Probe panel ascribes deaths to oxygen shortage

The probe panel which was appointed by the Uttar Pradesh government to go into the deaths of over 60 children in a Gorakhpur hospital has confirmed that there was lack of oxygen for the patients and has blamed ‘financial irregularities’ at the hospital for the delay in payments to the oxygen supplier. One can only hope that at least now the Yogi Adityanath government would stop harping on lack of oxygen not being a cause of the ghastly tragedy. The chief minister’s repeated assertions that unclean surroundings and hygiene were behind the high casualties is hardly a defence. If that was so, responsibility must be fixed for this terrible state of affairs without further delay, but the interruption in oxygen supply can hardly be brushed aside. That the report confirms also that the funds to pay the vendor were credited to the hospital’s account on August 5 but were not paid to the vendor until the tragedy struck nearly a week later shows appalling laxity on the hospital’s part. It would be most unfortunate if the report, which is signed by the chief medical officer, assistant district magistrate (city), additional director health and family welfare, additional commissioner (admin) and the city magistrate is not duly acted upon. While the panel has recommended a more comprehensive probe, the preliminary findings too are significant and must be given due weightage.

The probe panel has held at least six employees responsible for the delay in processing the payment and these must be called to account. It further says that the officers did not act despite reminders that defaulting on payment could have serious consequences. If hygiene standards in the hospital were so shocking as the Yogi government claims, the situation must be remedied forthwith on a war footing. The damning report goes on to say that the job done by Principal Dr Rajeev Mishra, HOD anaesthesia Dr Satish and chief pharmacist Gajanan Agarwal was found to be unsatisfactory. It concludes that had Dr Mishra and Dr Satish paid attention to complaints made by the likes of paediatrician Dr Kafeel Ahmad and acted in time, the crisis could have been avoided. There is no justification for the Yogi government to now drag its feet. The government must, in all humility, recognize that mistakes were made which proved fatal for the children. While heads must roll and accountability must be established, it is incumbent on the government to ensure that such incidents do not occur in future. It is now coming out that even in the past under earlier governments there were outbreaks of encephalitis and high casualties among children in the same hospital.