199 crib deaths at two hospitals in Ahmedabad, Rajkot in December

AHMEDABAD: Two government hospitals in Rajkot and Ahmedabad have together reported 199 infant deaths in December, constituting almost 25 per cent of the total number of admissions that month. Rajkot Civil Hospital accounted for 111 of these crib deaths, which works out to 28 per cent of the newborns admitted there in December.
According to figures released by the state health department on Sunday, Rajkot and Ahmedabad civil hospitals recorded 269 and 253 infant deaths respectively between October and December 2019.
Deputy CM Nitin Patel, who is also the health minister, said the high infant mortality rate was unfortunate "but within limit". He claimed that patients from outside the state being treated at these state-run hospitals was partially responsible for the spike in numbers.
State Congress president Amit Chavda said the high rate of infant deaths might not be restricted to Ahmedabad and Rajkot alone. "This number may run into thousands if hospitals across the state are taken into account," he said.
The deputy CM accused Congress, under fire for a spate of crib deaths at JK Lon Hospital in Rajasthan's Kota, was trying to divert attention from its own failure elsewhere. "I would like to ask the Congress governments in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh why patients from these neighbouring states come to Gujarat hospitals for treatment if they have good health care systems in place?" he said.
At Rajkot Civil Hospital, there were 388 admissions to the newborn intensive care unit in December. Of these, 160 were cases referred from other health care facilities. At Ahmedabad Civil Hospital, which reported 88 deaths in December, 415 children had been admitted that month, of whom 243 were referred from other health facilities, the health department said.
While clearly drawing the line between cases from within the hospital and those referred from other health facilities within or outside the state, Patel said that from October to December, 1,296 cases were treated at the Rajkot hospital, of which 499 had been referred from elsewhere. In Ahmedabad, of the 1,357 infants treated during that period, 802 had been referred from other facilities.
Patel said underweight infants, unhealthy mothers, improper pregnancy practices and lack of awareness about mother-and-child health were some of the reasons that had contributed to crib deaths. "We are creating awareness and also setting up more SNCUs and Bal Sakha units across the state. The health of pregnant women is tracked through an online system."
Based on data shared by the health department, the mortality rates of patients admitted to the special newborn care unit of the Rajkot hospital were 19.3%, 15.5% and 28% of the total patients admitted in October, November and December respectively. Officials claimed that 35-40% of the children referred from other hospitals were already in a critical condition when they were brought in.
At Ahmedabad Civil Hospital, 91 infants died in October, 74 in November and 88 in December. The mortality rates were 18.4%, 16.4% and 21.2% respectively. Here, too, the ratio of patients referred from other hospitals and health care facilities was more than 55%, officials said.
"According to the recently-published Sample Registration Bulletin (SRB) by the central government for the year 2017, Gujarat had infant mortality rate (IMR) of 30 - which means, 30 infant deaths per 1,000 live births. We are better than states such as Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan," the deputy CM said. "Our internal data collection mechanism indicates IMR of 25 or below."