Hyderabad, November 16
In an appalling case of medical negligence, seven infants died at a government hospital in the coastal Andhra city of Vijayawada due to faulty incubators and ventilators.

The tragedy triggered a widespread outrage as the hospital authorities initially said the deaths were a result of various ailments. However, after protests by parents and relatives grew louder, the government ordered a probe and promised to take action against negligent staff.

The deaths of newborns, all between two and three days old, came to light late last night when parents raised an alarm and accused the doctors and nursing staff of being callous and negligent.

All the newborns were of underweight or suffering from respiratory ailments, requiring to be put in incubators. The parents of the diseased infants alleged that only four out of 11 incubators were functioning at the hospital. The neo-natal ward was not equipped with centralised oxygen system for incubators and the kids were put in broken incubators, they claimed.

The ongoing strike by junior doctors, demanding hike in the stipend, further compounded the miseries of the newborns as they were left unattended. Heartrending scenes unfolded at the hospital as parents, holding their dead little ones in their arms, cried inconsolably. They staged a protest in front of the hospital and local legislators also joined them.

The hospital superintendent HB Lal initially said the deaths were due to congenital diseases but later agreed to conduct an inquiry. According to him, four infants died in the general ward and two in the neo-natal Intensive Care Unit (ICU).

In Hyderabad, Health Minister D Nagender announced a probe into the episode by a team of senior doctors. “We will take action based on the report by the team”, he said.

The State Human Rights Commission took note of the case suo motu and directed the state government to submit a report immediately.

The local TDP MLA D Umamaheswara Rao, who is leading an agitation involving parents and relatives of the infants and the locals, demanded a compensation of Rs 5 lakh to each of the bereaved family and dismissal of the negligent doctors and staff.