The Rajasthan government on Friday appointed a four-member committee to investigate the death of nine newborns at J.K. Lon Hospital in Kota during the last two days. The committee will submit its report within three days, after inspecting the hospital and looking into the medical facilities available in the institution.
Five infants died at the hospital during Wednesday night and four more on Thursday. All of them were one to four days old. The death of an unusual number of newborn babies in the hospital in December last year had also generated a controversy.
J.K. Lon hospital, run by the State government, is dedicated to the treatment of children and infants. Medical and Health Minister Raghu Sharma said here that he had received reports from the hospital’s Medical Superintendent and the Kota Medical College Principal, explaining the causes of death of the newborns.
The reports stated that three of the infants had been brought dead to the hospital, while three others had died of congenital diseases. The remaining three newborn babies died from cot death, also called the sudden infant death syndrome, which is caused by suffocation during breastfeeding or other reasons, according to the reports.
Mr. Sharma asked the Principals of all medical colleges in the State to take special care of the treatment of newborns. The committee will check the requirement and availability of medical staff in J.K. Lon Hospital, availability of medicines, and the working condition of medical equipment during its investigation.
The members of the committee are Commissioner (Medical Education) Shivangi Swarnkar, Director (Reproductive & Child Health) Lakshman Singh Ola and paediatricians Amarjeet Mehta and Rambabu Sharma.
Meanwhile, the Rajasthan State Human Rights Commission took cognisance of the death of infants and decided to send its Secretary and Registrar to the hospital in Kota. The two officers will conduct a probe to check the facts and submit their report to the Commission.
