Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) Director Bl Sherwal on Wednesday claimed that the rate of survival of children in the State’s premier hospital was more than 86 per cent.
He was making a clarification on the report published in a vernacular daily that 133 children died due to various reasons at State’s largest Hospital in the last 28 days.
Talking to media persons at RIMS Conference Hall, Sherwal added that out of 4,855 children admitted of various ages from January to August this year, 4,195 children were saved with the efforts made by the hospital authorities while 13 per cent of them could not be saved.
“Out of the total of 4,855 children brought to the Hospital in the last eight months, 660 of them could not be saved due to various reasons. As all efforts are made by the doctors here to save the life of any patient brought to the hospital, focus must be on the rate of survival,” said Sherwal. He said that the number of child deaths during the last 28 days was 103.
“Out of the 646 children admitted from August 1 to 28, 543 of them could be saved while 103 died due to various reasons. 64 of them died within 24 hours of their admission in the Hospital,” said Head of the Department (HOD) of Paediatrics and Neonatology Department Dr Anil Kumar Chaudhary.
RIMS being a tertiary care institute, children are bought without any life support system exhausting the vital 24 hours time also called ‘golden hour’ after referred from the private and government hospitals in different parts of the State, he added.
“As mortality rate is more during the first 24 hours in neonatal cases hence efforts must be made to bring children to the hospital within 24 hours of their birth,” said Chaudhary. Deaths in such cases occurred due to birth asphyxia, pre-mature birth, being under weight or due to infection, he added.
“We have all the facilities available here and there is no dearth of medicines in the Hospital and running 3 emergency units for children at a time in the Hospital,” said the HOD. Most of the deaths occurred as children were brought here after 24 hours and without life support system, he added.
The RIMS Director, however, said that neo-natal deaths in the State could be minimized in the State very soon as the decks has been cleared for an effective ambulance service in the State which is likely to be introduced within the next 3 months time.
“Neonatal mortality rate is expected to go down after ambulance service starts functioning effectively in the State as children are likely to be brought to the hospital immediately with all life support system in it,” said Sherwal.
RIMS Director also suggested pre-confirmation referral system to minimise neo-natal death rate at RIMS where the hospital administration should be asked whether any bed was available or not, only after which the child should be referred to it otherwise it might be shifted to some other hospital.
Incidentally, death of 52 infants within 30 days at Jamshedpur’s Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Medical College and Hospital in Jamshedpur, reported on August 27, has already questioned the health care system of State. The Medical Superintendent B Bhushan termed the number of deaths not extraordinary.
