UP Govt Hospital gets clean chit: Probe dismisses allegation of newborn dying after being bitten by animal on its premises

Lucknow: After a newborn baby was found dead with marks of being bitten by an animal at the premises of the government hospital in Gonda, an official inquiry report dismissed the allegation that a newborn baby died after being bitten by an animal.  

A woman named Saira Bano, a resident of village panchayat Bachhaipur in the Dhanepur police station area of the district, was admitted to the community health center Mujehna late on Saturday night following labor pain and the woman gave birth to a child, who died shortly after birth.

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The family had alleged that the staff had shifted the newborn to another ward, saying that the child needed oxygen and they were moved out from there but on Sunday morning, the staff told them that the newborn had died.

The District Magistrate Ujjawal Kumar, who had constituted a two-member inquiry committee to look into the matter on Sunday, described the incident as 'wrong' and said the woman had given birth to a dead child. He said, "The child was born dead, and the body was handed over to the family. There were nibbling marks on the body, but that did not happen at the hospital. It is not sure where it happened." 

The report was made by the Gonda health department and it has been submitted to the health directorate and state administration for further action reports, the Hindustan Times. 

Dr. Rashmi Verma, chief medical officer (CMO) of Gonda heading the probe said, "The woman was admitted at 11.10 pm on August 27 and gave birth to a stillborn child at 1.15 am in the night. The family was told everything after which they insisted that they be allowed to stay in the hospital for some time as it was night. Hence, the body was kept in a warmer, which was at a height of three-and-a-half feet from the floor." Talking about the baby's death, the CMO said, "The death of the foetus took place due to meconium stained liquor (MSL)." Dr. Verma said, "The stillborn was seven months old, and it was a pre-term delivery. The family took the child and returned after a gap of 2-3 hours stating that the child's face was eaten by an animal. But the family said all this when they returned and had said nothing when the body was handed over to them."

The family said, when they saw the baby, they came to know that some animal had bitten it and immediately informed the senior administrative officials about the incident and informed the local police, alleging that the hospital staff's negligence led to the death of the baby. District Magistrate in a statement issued late on Sunday night said the probe team which visited the hospital has found that the family had taken the infant's body home in the night but had brought it back in the morning.

The family made the allegations at the instigation of some people, he said. "The woman was admitted on 27 August 2022 for delivery. She gave birth to a dead child on the night of 28 August 2022 at around 1.30 pm," the DM said, adding that the post-mortem report will clear the cause of the death.

However, the post-mortem report confirmed the presence of several nibble wounds on the face of the newborn. Citing asphyxia as the main cause of death, the report states, "Among the parts which had nibble wounds included the nose, lips, and area around the eyes." 

Taking note of the incident, Deputy Chief Minister Brijesh Pathak, who also holds the health portfolio, on Sunday asked the Chief Medical Officer to look into the matter. However, taking note of the post-mortem report, Pathak said, "There seems to be a malicious attempt to malign the image of the department and the government, which I condemn."

In a tweet on Sunday night, Pathak said, "In the case of the suspected death of a newborn in Gonda's CHC (Community Health Center) Mujehna, on my instructions, the investigation by CMO (Chief Medical Officer) Gonda found all allegations to be untrue and baseless." The opposition Samajwadi Party had also hit out at the BJP-led state government for the poor health service in Uttar Pradesh after the incident came to light.

"Huge negligence has come to the fore at Mujehna CHC, Gonda. After delivery, the baby was kept in the delivery room where the wild animal ate the baby's mouth. These are the embarrassing and shameful horrific unsafe conditions of government hospitals in UP under Yogi Raj, what do people do and where do they go?" SP Chief Akhilesh Yadav had tweeted. 

Yadav on Monday again asked for an update on the incident. Citing the probe report outcome, Pathak said, "There seems to be a malicious attempt to malign the image of the department and the government, which I condemn."

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