Nagpur: Rising infant deaths at GMCH raise eyebrows

The government expenditure of crores to prevent infant mortality doesn't appear to be effective. In Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), there were 205 deaths of infants in 2020, 176 in 2021, and 237 in 2022.

GMCH gets patients not only from Vidarbha but also from neighbouring states. Earlier, there was no Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) in the paediatrics department of the GMCH for newborns coming from outside. NICU was available for children born in GMCH only.

After Lokmat Times consistently raised this issue, independent NICUS of 3C beds each for newborns coming from outstation and born in GMCH were set up. This brought down infant mortality. But it is increasing again from the last three years.

According to information received by RTI activist Abhay Kolarkar, 9,356 babies were born in 2020. The infant mortality rate in 2020 was 2.19%. It was 2.34% among 7,493 babies born in 2021 and in 2022 it climbed up to 2.46% among 9,630 children born.

According to a senior doctor of GMC, there is a high mortality rate among newborns who come from outside to GMC. Doctors say low birth weight, premature babies, congenital infections, and pneumonia were the main causes of death among newborns.

Special ambulance needed

The number of children Who come to the CMC in critical condition is large. Especially patients who are on 'neonatal ventilator' come Without a ventilator to GMC Such patients are difficult to save. The government should set up a special ambulance facility for them, doctors said.

They also said it was necessary to provide special training to doctors and nurses in places where there is no NICU

• GMCH gets patients not only from Vidarbha but also from neighbouring States.
• Earlier, there was no Neonatal Intensive Care unit in the paediatrics department for newborns coming from outside.
• Later, 30 bed NICU was set up for newborns coming outside