At least 35 people, including 16 infants, have died at the Shankarrao Chavan Government Hospital in the Nanded district of the Indian state of Maharashtra within 48 hours. This has led to allegations of possible negligence on the part of the state government. Initially, the hospital reported 24 deaths on October 1, with 12 of them being newborns. The death toll rose to 35 on October 2, according to local reports.
Local media have stated that the patients died of various medical conditions, with most of them being elderly people with heart disease, underweight infants, and accident victims. Yogesh Solanki, whose family brought their one-day-old infant to the hospital, reported that his brother’s baby was the fifth one to die. He mentioned that the neonatal unit was overcrowded, with multiple babies being kept in a single incubator designed for one baby.
Opposition politicians have accused the Maharashtra government of gross negligence. Chief Minister Eknath Shinde stated that action would be taken against the responsible parties but denied any shortages of staff and medicine at the hospital.
The dean of Shankarrao Chavan Hospital, Shyamrao Wakode, claimed that the deaths were due to various ailments and that the hospital had been providing proper care to the patients. He mentioned that there were staff transfers and supposed procurement of medicines from the Haffkine Institute.
This is the second incident of multiple deaths in Maharashtra within months. In August, 18 people admitted to a state-run hospital in the Thane region died over a 24-hour period. The state government has ordered an investigation into both incidents.
India’s public healthcare system is known to be ill-equipped and understaffed. The doctor-to-patient ratio is significantly below the recommended level set by the World Health Organization.
In response to the situation, member of parliament Hemant Patil punished the hospital dean by making him clean the toilets, expressing outrage over the incidents. He also mentioned previous incidents of child deaths at the hospital due to dengue. A video showed Mr. Patil ordering Mr. Wakode to clean the toilets, stating that they had not been cleaned for months despite government funding. Mr. Wakode later filed a formal complaint against Mr. Patil for defamation and obstruction of duty.