Four infants died at the Raipur District Hospital, Pandri, because they were critically ill and not due to power failure, the Pt Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Medical College here said on Wednesday, saying misleading news leads to distrust in public mind and demoralizes the medical fraternity.
Before publicizing such news, details should be sought from the concerned health authorities, the Pt Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Medical College-Raipur said in a statement.
The doctors described as "entirely misleading" the reported deaths of the four infants on a single day as claimed by a news portal.
The statement said that due to Covid-19 pandemic, the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit was shifted from Pt Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Medical College to Raipur District Hospital, Pandri. It is one of the leading neonatal care units in the public sector of central India, it said.
Senior Paediatrician Dr Sharjha Phuljale and Neonatal specialist Dr Onkar Khandelwal said in a joint statement that critically ill or premature newborn, from zero to one month, are kept for 24x7 hours care at the neonatal care units.
Countering the report, they said even if there is power failure, the hospital has battery backup to run the life-saving equipment.
The doctors said that on July 16 at 7.30 pm one infant died. Three deaths were reported on July 17 -- at 3.50 am, at 9.00 am and at 5.00 pm.
All of them were critically ill (medical problem of severe perinatal asphyxia and refractory shock) and not responding to the medical treatment. No death can be linked to power failure, they asserted.
The doctors said no senior or junior doctors were on leave during the period. All the nursing and paramedical staff are trained for the unit. They pointed out that distorted news will demoralize the medical fraternity which is now fighting the Covid-19 pandemic.