According to sources, the Maharashtra government will hold a cabinet meeting to review the deaths of at least 31 patients, including 16 infants, at a government hospital in Maharashtra’s Nanded district. According to the officials, the government has also constituted an inquiry committee to look into the occurrence.
The death toll at Dr. Shankarrao Chavan Government Medical College Hospital has risen to 31 from 24 on Monday.
“The Maharashtra cabinet will meet today to discuss the Nanded Hospital deaths.” “The Cabinet may decide to form an inquiry committee into the incident,” an official told ANI.
According to officials, twenty-four deaths, including 12 infants, were recorded between September 30 and October 1 in a government hospital in Nanded because of poor facilities and a lack of staff and medicines.
“In 24 hours, 24 deaths have been reported at Nanded government Hospital and Medical College (GMCH),” Dr Dilip Mhaisekar, director of medical education and research in Maharashtra, said news agency PTI. Twelve of the 24 patients were newborns referred here by local private hospitals.”
The dean of the college, Shyamrao Wakode, denied claims of incompetence against the institution and informed news agency ANI that the deceased patients suffered from various conditions including diabetes, liver failure, and kidney failure.
The deaths sparked a tremendous political uproar, with the opposition blasting Prime Minister Narendra Modi and questioning his silence on the issue. Opposition politicians, including Sharad Pawar, Rahul Gandhi, Supriya Sule, and Priyanka Chaturvedi, immediately condemned the administration of Eknath Shinde over the alleged killings.
Sharad Pawar of the Nationalist Congress Party stated on social media X, formerly Twitter, “The unfortunate incident of the death of 24 people, including 12 newborns, in a government hospital in Nanded in 24 hours is literally shocking.”
Mallikarjun Kharge, the Leader of the Opposition, questioned the state government’s health infrastructure and urged a probe.
“It is said that these patients died due to a lack of medicines and treatment,” the top Congress leader remarked. In August 2023, a similar catastrophe occurred in a government hospital in Thane, killing 18 patients.”
“We need a thorough investigation so that the culprits of this carelessness are given strict punishment by the judiciary,” he stated.
Ashok Chavan, a former chief minister and local Congress MLA, paid a visit to the Nanded government hospital to assess the situation. “This is extremely unfortunate,” he remarked. Government medical schools are in dire trouble. Inadequate staffing and a lack of medicines are to blame for the hospital’s current state.”
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Chavan stated that when he shared these concerns with the dean, he was informed that, in addition to the 24 deaths in the previous 24 hours, approximately 70 patients were in critical condition. “Some of them have been referred to private hospitals,” he continued, implying that the death toll may grow further.
