Hospital equipment to be functional by January 15 in Kota: Govt

After having come under severe criticism for running the hospital without adequate infrastructure, Rajasthan health minister Raghu Sharma said on Friday that all equipment at Kota’s JK Lon Hospital, where 104 infant have died since December 1, 2019, will become functional by January 15.

A political row broke out after initial reports of the deaths of dozens of children at the facility, with several top Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders attacking the Congress-led state government over alleged negligence. An inquiry by the state government found infrastructure challenges, but ruled out negligence as the cause of deaths of infants. The Rajasthan health minister blamed the previous BJP-led government in the state for the shortage of beds at the Kota hospital.

The hospital appeared cleaner on Friday, and the stray pigs and dogs that were earlier seen roaming the facility had disappeared from within the premises. The work for laying additional piped oxygen supply lines also began. The hospital authorities were quick to remove a green carpet laid out to welcome Sharma, after a crowd of people congregated in the hospital pointed it out.

Facing Opposition heat for not visiting Kota after the hospital got into the news following the death of 10 infants in two days (December 23 and 24), Sharma visited it on Friday with transport minister Pratap Singh Khachariyawas and held a two-hour meeting with Kota medical college principal Dr Vijay Sardana and JK Lon Hospital superintendent Dr Suresh Chand Dulara.

Sharma has sought estimates from the hospital authorities for building, equipment and staff so that it can be accounted for in the next budget.

He also said that the hospital had sufficient funds for repair of dysfunctional equipment.

“We have given them 19 nursing staff and are trying to ramp up other facilities soon,” he said.

“Out of the 100 deaths in December, 70 were in the neonatal intensive care unit, 25 in paediatric ICU and five in general ward. Most of the toddlers, who come to this hospital, are referred to from other health care centres after they become very critical,” Sharma said.

The Central government’s team of health experts also reached Kota and will begin their assessment of the situation on ground.

The minister questioned the role of the previous Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government and said before going out of power in 2013, the Congress government sanctioned 60 beds each in the paediatric and gynaecology wards. “Even after giving financial approval in July 2012, these beds were not added to the Kota hospital. Imagine if 60 beds were available, you wouldn’t see two infants on one bed,” the minister said.

Sharma said out of the 120 beds approved by them [in 2012], the BJP government set up only 45, and that too in the gynaecology ward only.

Khachariyawas said no one could question the intention of the government, which introduced the free medicine and free diagnostics schemes in Rajasthan. “We will take strict action against the guilty,” he said.

The ministers’ visit was preceded by war of words between the Congress and BJP workers. The police restricted entry of BJP workers at the hospital to prevent any clash between them and the Congress workers. When some BJP workers raised slogans from outside, Congress workers also got agitated and started raising slogans against Kota MP and Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla.

Earlier, on Friday morning, the police detained around a dozen Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) workers, who gathered outside the hospital to protest the minister’s visit. They demonstrated outside the hospital and raised slogans against the state government. Kota deputy superintendent of police BS Hingad said that the workers have been detained to maintain law and order and will be released at some distance under the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) provisions.

Meanwhile, in Jodhpur, chief minister Ashok Gehlot defended the health minister for not visiting Kota earlier.

“On receiving the information of deaths, we sent the expert committee to inspect the hospital and take necessary steps,” he said. The CM said that the matter has been made an issue by the media and the Opposition. “Such cases of infant deaths have also come up during the BJP government. Kota MP and Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla knows everything and the issue will end the day he speaks.”

He said that the state government has implemented the Nirogi Rajasthan Scheme to reduce infant and maternal mortality. “Our predecessor government had approved proposals to develop many basic facilities for this hospital, but the BJP government did not act on those plans,” he said.

Meanwhile, taking a suo motu cognisance of media reports about the deaths, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) also issued a notice to chief secretary of Rajasthan to submit a detailed report within four weeks about the steps being taken to address the issue.