Amid heatwave, DM pays visit to Ballia district hospital

Health officials refused to clarify if any new patient death was recorded at the facility but said the number of new patients coming to the hospital has gone down.

Also Read:UP govt panel denies Ballia deaths were due to heat stroke

The Ballia district hospital has come under the scanner after 68 patients died at the facility in five days till Monday. The deaths came amid heatwave conditions in the region. 

During the inspection on Tuesday, District Magistrate Ravindra Kumar said, "The number of air conditioners, coolers and fans in the wards have increased in the last few days. Arrangements have also been made for additional staff." 

Chief Medical Superintendent (CMS) of the hospital S K Yadav said the number of new patients has decreased drastically in the last 24 hours. 

On Monday, a two-member committee comprising Director (Communicable Diseases) Dr A K Singh and Director (Medical Care) K N Tiwari was sent by the state government to Ballia to look into the reasons behind the recent deaths.

The committee visited several areas of the district and spoke to family members of patients who succumbed at the district hospital. 

Medical Dialogues team had earlier reported that the official committee sent to Uttar Pradesh's Ballia to probe the alleged heat stroke deaths in the eastern district has said that the 54 people who died were not heat-wave-related deaths. Fifty-four people have died and around 400 hospitalised in Uttar Pradesh's Ballia in the last three days amid soaring temperatures in the district, with officials offering divergent explanations for the deaths. 

Also Read:34 people admitted to Ballia district hospital die due to severe heat in 48 hrs