AP rodent attack: Govt promises action; Rs 2 lakh compensation
The government had ordered an inquiry into the incident
Guntur: A day after a 10-day-old infant died of rodent bites in the intensive care unit of a government hospital here, Andhra Pradesh Health Minister K Srinivas on Thursday said that action will be soon taken against erring officials in the case even as authorities announced a compensation of Rs two lakh for the family of the deceased.
"Action will be soon initiated against all those responsible for the death of the baby boy," Srinivas told reporters here after visiting the hospital along with State Minister P Sujatha, Member of Parliament, G Jayadev and Special Secretary for Health, L V Subramanyam.
The minister also interacted with Laxmi, the mother of the victim, other patients in the intensive care ward besides senior doctors including Hospital Superintendent Dr Venugopal. On Wednesday, the government had ordered an inquiry into the incident and sought a report from the hospital in this regard.
Also, an emergency meeting of the hospital's development committee was held under the chairmanship of Collector Kantilal Dande who was asked to conduct a special sanitation drive in the hospital. Meanwhile, the advisory committee of the hospital, under the chairmanship of the Collector, today announced a compensation of Rs 2 lakh for the family of the baby. A few YSR Congress leaders also visited the hospital and demanded proper probe into the incident.
According to Venugopal, the boy was born on August 17 at the Vijayawada General Hospital. He was shifted to the Guntur Government hospital here for a surgery after developing some health complications, and afterwards placed in the ICU. His mother noticed on Wednesday morning that the boy's right hand fingers had been bitten by rats following which he died during treatment.
Meanwhile, the Health Minister also said action would be taken against hospital staff who behaved inhumanly in the incident.
"The mother (of the deceased baby) made some complaints. We wanted to suspend those who can be identified. We will take action on those who behaved inhumanly, once they are identified in this incident," he said.
The Collector of Guntur district has been asked to take up a special sanitation drive in the hospital, Srinivas said. "We gave powers to the (district) Collector to take up a special drive in the next three-four days to ensure that there are no sanitation problems in the hospital," he said.
Admitting that the incident is a matter of shame for the government, he said decisions have been taken to improve the sanitation conditions in the government hospitals in the state.
"We have taken clear decisions on improving sanitation conditions in hospitals in the 13 districts (of the state) and to make the doctors more responsible. This incident is definitely a matter of shame," the minister added.