Healthcare kaput? 49 dead in 4 days in twin Maharashtra govt hospitals; docs say 'no shortage' of lifesaving drugs

Putting a big question mark on the state's healthcare, at least 49 people have been reported dead since September 30 in two government hospitals of Maharashtra even as doctors claim no shortage of any lifesaving drugs.

Aurangabad (Maharashtra): A day after it came to light that 24 patients were reported dead in a 24-hour period at a government-run hospital in Maharashtra's Nanded, 18 more people died at a different government hospital at Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar in the state.

Besides, the authorities on Tuesday confirmed that seven more deaths occurred at the Nanded hospital between October 1 and 21. Sources said that 18 deaths were recorded at the Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar between 8 am on October 2 and 8 am on October 3.

The death toll in the two hospitals from September 30 to October 3 morning has thus reached 49. Quoting the medical superintendent of the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, news agency PTI reported that of the 18 deaths recorded at the hospital, four persons were brought dead.

"Among the 18, two patients died due to heart attack while two others were suffering from pneumonia. Another three deceased patients were suffering from renal failure and another with liver failure. One patient died due to the failure of liver and kidney. One casualty each was reported due to road accident, poisoning, and infection after appendix burst," he said.

The official said two pre-term babies died on the sixth day of treatment (between October 2 and 3) at the hospital. "They were pre-term babies and weighed only 1,300 grams each," he added. The official said the facility was not running short on life-saving drugs. "We are ascertaining which are the last-minute referrals to the GMCH among these cases (18 fatalities)," he added.

The official, however, highlighted that the hospital was crowded as the facility has 1,177 beds but anytime more than 1,600 patients remain admitted. "As this facility is a tertiary care unit, we had nearly 28,000 admissions last month. Out of these admissions, 419 deaths were recorded with us (in September). The percentage is 1.45 per cent," he added.

Taking to microblogging site X on Tuesday morning, senior Congress leader Ashok Chavan, while pointing out to the deaths in the Nanded hospital, said, "Deaths continue unabated at the hospital in Nanded. Seven more patients, including four children, died since yesterday (October 2) at the Government Medical College and Hospital." "The state government should fix the responsibility," the former Maharashtra chief minister demanded.

• नांदेडमध्ये मृत्यूचे थैमान सुरूच.
  शासकीय वैद्यकीय महाविद्यालयाच्या रुग्णालयात कालपासून आणखी ७ रुग्णांचा दुर्दैवी मृत्यू. मृतकांमध्ये ४ बालकांचाही समावेश. राज्य सरकारने जबाबदारी निश्चित करावी.

  — Ashok Chavan (@AshokChavanINC) October 3, 2023 " class="align-text-top noRightClick twitterSection" data="

  नांदेडमध्ये मृत्यूचे थैमान सुरूच.
  शासकीय वैद्यकीय महाविद्यालयाच्या रुग्णालयात कालपासून आणखी ७ रुग्णांचा दुर्दैवी मृत्यू. मृतकांमध्ये ४ बालकांचाही समावेश. राज्य सरकारने जबाबदारी निश्चित करावी.

  — Ashok Chavan (@AshokChavanINC) October 3, 2023

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  नांदेडमध्ये मृत्यूचे थैमान सुरूच.
  शासकीय वैद्यकीय महाविद्यालयाच्या रुग्णालयात कालपासून आणखी ७ रुग्णांचा दुर्दैवी मृत्यू. मृतकांमध्ये ४ बालकांचाही समावेश. राज्य सरकारने जबाबदारी निश्चित करावी.

  — Ashok Chavan (@AshokChavanINC) October 3, 2023

Meanwhile, Maharashtra Medical Education Minister Hasan Mushrif will visit the GMCH in Nanded on Tuesday. He will also address a press conference following his visit to the hospital, a district official said.