Six tribal infants die within a night at hospital in Madhya Pradesh's Shahdol; probe ordered into cause of deaths, negligence by staff

Shahdol: Six tribal infants have died at a state-run hospital in Madhya Pradesh’s Shahdol on the intervening night of 13 and 14 January, a senior official said on Tuesday.

A probe has been ordered by Madhya Pradesh Health Minister Tulsi Silawat. “The infants, some of them one-day-old and others two-and-a-half-months-old, died on the intervening night of 13 and 14 January,” said Dr Rajesh Pande, Chief Medical and Health Officer (CMHO), Kushabhau Thakre district hospital.

The exact cause of their death will be known after investigation, he said. “The infants were admitted in the Sick Newborn Care Unit (SNCU) of the hospital in a serious condition, and efforts to save them proved futile,” he added.

Dr Pande also said that authorities are also probing whether there is any negligence on part of the hospital staff. Four of the six deceased were identified as Shyam Narayan Kol, Suraj Baiga, Anjali Baiga and Subhash Baiga.

State Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Minister Kamleshwar Patel also visited the hospital to take stock of the situation. “A high-level team will probe the incident and submit its report soon, based on which action will be taken against concerned staff,” he said.