New Delhi:
The
National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has formed a committee that will look into the deaths of 10,000 children in the last five years in Delhi's Kalawati Saran hospital. The information was obtained by Rajhans Bansal - a resident of Rohini in Delhi - who filed an RTI application seeking details of the numbers of children who died in the government hospital in the past five years. The reply revealed that 10,081 kids have died in a span of 55 months at an average of 6 children dying a day. The estimates reveal that 17% of child deaths in Delhi happen in just this one hospital
The NHRC committee is expected to investigate into the matter and file a reply in four weeks.
A visit to the hospital exposes the problems at the hospital. Nine of the 25 ventilators at the government hospital don't work; six of these are in the paediatric ICU.
Though no information was provided by the hospital on the reasons behind these deaths, the petitioner says the shocking statistics speak for themselves. "It shows the failure of the administration. If immediate steps are not taken things will only worsen," said Mr Bansal.
Activists say the hospital has been allotted Rs 55 crore by the health ministry but there has been no change in the way the hospital operates. "This hospital has always been in news for malfunctioning. There's no doubt there is corruption. Money is not being spent where required. The condition of toilets and water alone has to be first looked at, says Bharti Ali, co-director, HAQ Centre for child rights.
(with PTI inputs)