Jodhpur:
The death count in Jodhpur hospital continues to rise. One more woman died today after being administered allegedly with contaminated intravenous fluid.
The woman, Sagar Kanwar, was in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) for the past three weeks. She leaves behind a three-week-old baby.
With the latest incident, the death toll in the city has now risen to 18.
Of the 18 women, 15 died in the last three weeks at the Umaid Hospital after complications that arose during or after their deliveries at the hospital. The hospital has become notorious for a string of maternal deaths due to alleged medical negligence.
Between the state and Centre and the hospital, five different inquiries are trying to determine what went wrong. So far, the suspicion is that intravenous fluid used for the women was infected.
Samples were sent to the Central drug research lab in Kolkata for testing, but the results have yet to be declared.
It's not just mothers who died. Five babies were stillborn and one was premature. But of the nine children who survived, many are at risk without their mothers to take care of them.
There is no doubt, say many experts, including a committee of doctors who conducted an internal inquiry at Umaid Hospital that severe medical negligence contributed to the rash of deaths.
Umaid Hospital is a government hospital, which means it sees a huge rush of patients every day. Last year, the number of deliveries shot up from 40% to 70% of the operations performed here - the result, doctors say, of a government scheme that pays women close to Rs 2000 if they deliver at a hospital instead of at home. In 2010, there were 20,600 deliveries at the operating theatre. That's almost 50 births per day in this 700-bed hospital. Given the rush, basics like fumigating operating theatres to ensure they're sanitised are often overlooked as there just isn't time.