Questioned About Deaths of Over 100 Infants in Gujarat, CM Vijay Rupani Walks Away

Ahmedabad: Over 100 infants died at a civil hospital in Gujarat's Rajkot district in December last year, an official said on Sunday, even as the country outrages over the deaths of infants at a state-run hospital in Rajasthan’s Kota.

“As per official records, 111 infants died at Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay Hospital in Rajkot in December, 71 in November and 87 in October last year," the hospital's medical superintendent, Manish Mehta, told reporters.

He said the rise in infant deaths at the hospital in December was mainly due to an increase in the number of referral patients with serious ailments. More infants with low birth weight was also among the reasons for the rise in number of deaths, Mehta said.

"We hold monthly meetings to assess facilities available at the hospital and meet the requirements urgently," he added.

Besides, 85 infants died at a civil hospital in Ahmedabad in December, its medical superintendent GH Rathod told reporters.

"As many as 85 infants died in the month of December, 74 in November and 94 in October. The death rate has come down to around 18 per cent as compared to 2018," Rathod said, without specifying the previous numbers.

The main reasons for such deaths were pre-mature delivery, low birth weight, as well as infection and asphyxiation in infants referred to the hospital, he said.

Reacting to the figures, state Health Minister Nitin Patel said the infant mortality rate is 30 per 1,000. "Every year 12 lakh infants are born. Of these, 30 out of every 1,000 infants die due to malnutrition, pre-mature delivery, or because the mothers are not able to reach hospital in time,” the minister said.

It was, however, the reaction of Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani — who chose to walk away when questioned by reporters — that exposed the insensitive attitude of the state towards the deaths.