Centre willing to add health staff to Sishu Bhavan: Pradhan
Odisha Sun Times Bureau
Cuttack, Aug 29:
Union Petroleum and Natural Gas minister Dharmendra Pradhan today said the Centre is willing to provide additional doctors and para-medical staff for Sishu Bhavan in Cuttack, the premiere paediatric referral hospital in Odisha, in consultation with the Odisha government.
The Union minister who arrived at Sishu Bhavan today with a seven-member special team led by Arun Panda, additional secretary, Union Health and Family Welfare ministry, said the team, after visiting the wards, ICU and patho lab, has found that there are no adequate doctors and lab technicians in Sishu Bhavan which has witnessed the death of at least 46 infants in last nine days.
“To overcome the situation at the earliest, we have proposed the state government on behalf of the Centre to urgently provide adequate number of doctors and para-medical staff for the Sishu Bhavan as per its requirement for crisis management for at least one or two months”, Pradhan told the mediapersons later.
He also informed that the Centre has decided to sanction funds to SCB Medical College and Hospital and Sishu Bhavan from the Central budget.
Briefing the mediapersons, the Union additional secretary said the team has specifically come to help the state government on behalf of the Centre.
“We would discuss with the state government on whether it needs additional doctors, para-medics and nurses and any change in the existing clinical management protocol for Sishu Bhavan. Our prime objective is to ensure no infant deaths,” he added.
Meanwhile, a fact-finding team of the Odisha High Court Bar visited Sishu Bhavan in the afternoon.
It is pathetic know the 30+ infants death in Sishu Bhaban due to negligence of the Sishu Bhaban administrator. Detail inquiry should be carried out by CBI and state police and State and Central health ministries. The culprit should be barred from the position and department and should be put in jail. The central government provide more doctors is not enough solving the crisis that occurred in a reputed government institution. A committee comprising representattives from both government and non government sectors should look at the incident and produce a report and recommendation. My request to Mr. Pradhan and the CM Naveen Patnaik to take proper action according to the committee report and make Sishu Bhavan a world class pediatric center with highly qualified doctors, technicians, nurses, labs, equipment and critical treatment, surgery facilities, and research in child diseases and surgeries.