In a blow to the State Government and district administration facing flak for dismal condition of shelter homes to the State, three more inmates of Nari niketan were taken ill and rushed to Doon hospital on Tuesday. According to the acting chief medical superintendent (CMS), Dehradun, KC Pant, the number of inmates hospitalised has risen to eight.
Pant informed that a team comprising Dr NS Khatri and Dr Harish Basra, lab technicians, dieticians and psychologists had reached Nari Niketan to conduct the medical check-ups of all the inmates staying there on Tuesday.
"Three of them were found ill. Without taking risk, the team members had decided to admit them at the hospital. The inmates thus admitted on Tuesday are Shalini, 40, Ashma, 45 and Kusum 32. The medical report of other inmates of Nari Niketan will be received on Wednesday," he added.
The condition of 36-year-old Razia, a patient of tuberculosis, who had been admitted at Doon Hospital on December 26, is reported to be critical. She has been kept on the doctor's observation. Things turning serious, those running the crisis-ridden home and the senior district administrative officers met on Tuesday to work out a working plan to bring the situation on the right tracks. "We are all worried. Corrective steps are being taken to stem the tide. They would yield results soon," said a senior district official who attended the meeting.
Mention worthy, two inmates died in a span of just three days at Doon Hospital, further denting into the reputation of the institution.
Save for Razia, the rest of the inmates now admitted at the hospital are suffering from anemia. The home officials have sought to explain it by the fact that the mentally challenged women averse to taking food make them fall prey to anemia.
Mention worthy, two inmates died in a span of just two days at Doon Hospital, dealing a deadly blow to the already doddering home.
Dr DS Rawat, CMS Doon Hospital now on leave said over phone on Tuesday that the senior state administrative officers who had visited Nari Niketan on Monday had announced increased budget for providing right food to the inmates. "This is a step in the right direction," he said.
Moreover, regarding Nari Niketan issue, Dehradun district magistrate Ravi Nath Raman has formed a team headed by additional district magistrate (finance) Jharna Kamthan with the chief medical officer and social welfare officer as its members.
This team has been directed to conduct an inquiry and submit its report within a month. Additional DM Kamthan said that she had received the DM's order regarding the same on Tuesday.
The investigation would be done taking into account all the aspects related to Nair Niketan. The team members have begun the investigation, she added.