Day after Yogi’s visit, five more children die at Gorakhpur hosp
Five more children died at the BRD Medical College since Monday morning, a day after chief minister Yogi Adityanath visited the medical institute following the tragedy in which over 30 children had died on August 10-11 due to disruption of oxygen supply at the hospital.
However, there was no official confirmation and no staff member was allowed to speak to the media on the issue.
After the chief minister’s visit on Sunday, doctors and staff appeared a bit more attentive but mismanagement continued to persist.
A large number of admissions, shortage of staff and doctors continued to cause inconvenience to patients and their attendants.
Such was the state of affairs that seven-year- old Savan, resident of the city’s Taramandal area and Aradhya, resident of Campierganj, were seen sharing a bed at the 100-bed ward of the hospital. Both the children, who are semi-conscious, have been diagnosed with acute encephalitis syndrome (AES). They are on oxygen support.
Their attendants kept on complaining to doctors about the inconvenience caused but in vain. The children belong to daily wagers’ families.
“I requested the staff to provide separate beds, but they said no beds were vacant due to the large number of admissions. They asked me either to agree or leave,” said Savan’s uncle Ajit.
Driven by fear after the August 10-11 tragedy, some patents were seen checking the breathing of the children and making sure that oxygen support was not affected.
Those who got their children admitted after August 11 appeared less apprehensive.
Hemant , a daily wager from Kushinagar whose nine-year-old daughter Arushi is under treatment since August 3, said: “My daughter complained of high fever, jerks and vomiting. Her condition deteriorated initially but then it improved.” He was one of the parents who was asked to pump oxygen to the child through a hand-held device during the crisis earlier this week.
Meanwhile, oxygen supply improved with a consignment of 50 jumbo cylinders reaching the BRD Medical College from Imperial Company, Allahabad, on Monday morning. Another trolley was on way to Gorakhpur, sources said.
Jagdambika Pal, the BJP MP from Doomariyaganj, said: “A high-level inquiry panel led by the chief secretary has been set up to look into the matter. The picture will be clear once it submits its report in a week.”