Angul: As many as 1,339 newborns died in hospitals across Angul district in last three years. This startling revelation has laid bare the way the newborns are being taken care of at hospitals here in this district. Infection is said to be the reason behind these fatalities.
The government has been giving priority to safe delivery and keep infant mortality rate under check. Schemes after schemes are also being launched. The government is paying monetary assistance for encouraging institutional delivery. Despite all these, newborns are dying due to infection suggesting poor hygiene in labour rooms, SNCUs and wards in hospitals.
To protect newborns from infection, as per the standard operating procedure, labour rooms, OTs, Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICUs), Special Newborn Care Units (SNCUs) etc. are to be disinfected frequently. There are managers at each hospital to ensure such places are sanitised properly to make them free from infection.
At the same time, special care should be taken to ensure no outsiders except new mothers, hospital staff and doctors should enter these wards.
Regular cleaning, however, is taken lightly in most of the hospitals here owing to laxity. No 24-hour cleaning of the wards is being carried out. This is the reason why infection is proving to be a killer of newborns in the district.
According to health experts, preterm babies are more vulnerable than infants. Besides, shortage of oxygen is also claiming infant lives.
“Even though several factors are responsible for the death of newborns, infection is responsible for most such deaths. The hospital authorities are not inspecting regularly if the wards, labour rooms, etc. are being disinfected properly from time to time. The officers who have been assigned the task to look after all these things are not serious with their jobs. ASHAs and hospital staff can be seen entering labour rooms and wards on bare feet, wearing their regular clothes. At the same time, the seriously-ill babies are only being referred to other hospitals at the eleventh hour. This is another reason for high fatalities here,” observed Angul based retired paediatrician Dr Nilakantha Sahu.
The disinfection drive is not being carried out at Angul district headquarters hospital regularly. No one at the DHH seems to be serious enough to carry out a check to find out if floors and medical equipment are being made free from any infection. From this, the situation at CHCs and PHCs can well be imagined.
Owing to such negligence, in 2018-19, 2019-20 and 2020-21 saw 518 deaths (386 between 0-28 days and 132 between 28 days-12 months), 429 deaths (317 between 0-28 days and 112 between 28 days-12 months) and 392 deaths (306 between 0-28 days and 86 between 28 days-12 months) respectively in Angul district. Angul DHH alone reported 173, 99 and 102 deaths in 2018-19, 2019-20 and 2020-21 respectively.
If three years’ numbers of fatalities are put together, Angul DHH tops the list with 374 deaths, followed by Angul CHC (153), Banarpal CHC (138), Chhendipada CHC (131), Pallahara CHC (125), Kishorenagar CHC (124), Athmallik CHC (112), Kaniha CHC (92), Talcher CHC (85), Pallahara SDH and Talcher SDH (one each) and Athmallik SDH (0).
When contacted, chief district medical officer (CDMO) Dr Trilochan Pradhan said, “I have recently joined as CDMO of Angul. I have not yet reviewed the infant deaths and the reasons behind them.
“Soon a review meeting will be convened and then only I can say how many newborns and infants have so far died. Besides infection, there are some other reasons that are to be blamed for such deaths. Things will get clearer after the review meeting,” he added.
PNN