Minister denies medical negligence

Chennai: Health minister Dr C. Vijay Baskar said that the state was nearing the Central government’s target in achieving the Neonatal Mortality Rate. He was replying to a calling attention motion, moved by Opposition parties in the assembly on Thursday, when the 11 neonatal deaths that had occurred  in the Government Hospital in Dharmapuri recently came up.

Ruling out medical negligence, the minister said, “Of the 11, only two were born in the hospital, while the rest were admitted  in a critical condition. They came from other districts and Andhra Pradesh. Low birth weight and associated complications were the reasons for their death.” He pointed out also that there had been a steady increase in the number of admissions in the hospital at Dharmapuri, which meant that the treatment there was good.

The state recorded 21 infant deaths out of 1,000 births, and 14 neonatal deaths per 1,000 births. “The Centre has fixed a target of nine neonatal deaths per 1,000 births by 2030. Tamil Nadu is already nearing the target and urban Tamil Nadu has already achieved 11 deaths per 1,000,” the minister said. The government hospital in Salem had achieved eight deaths per 1,000, he added.