Hyderabad: Health minister Damodar Rajanarasimha on Wednesday slammed the BRS and its leader K.T. Rama Rao for trying to undermine the confidence of people in government hospitals. The minister also assured the people that there was no reason to fear going to a government hospital where best possible services were being provided to the people.
Rajanarasimha was reacting to a tweet by Rama Rao with data related to deaths of mothers and children in Gandhi Hospital this August. Alleging negligence by the government, Rama Rao said August saw 48 infants, and 14 mothers lose their lives in the hospital. Why is the government hiding this data unless it is making mistakes? Who should be held responsible for the deaths?” he asked.
The health minister said, “Hospitals like Gandhi, which provide tertiary care receive patients from all over who are critically-ill and the doctors in such government hospitals work hard to save the patients. But sometimes, some patients unfortunately cannot be saved. That is the reason why across the country in every tertiary care hospital, tens of patients lose their lives. But claiming that the deaths have risen after the Congress came to power shows how ignorant Rama Rao is about the facts,” Narasimha said.
For instance, he said 46 children lost their lives in October and November of 2023, the year the BRS was in power. And in October 2022, the number of children who lost their lives was 49 while in November of that year, the number was 53, the highest in the past three years for a single month. And In August 2023, 41 children had died, the same number as was reported for this year in August, he said.
Rama Rao had also said, “Telangana consciously and very meticulously worked to bring down the infant mortality rates and maternal mortality rates. Till 2023, we had the best IMR and MMR in Telangana since Independence.”
In his statement, the health minister said there was absolutely no truth in Rama Rao’s allegations that child and mother deaths had risen in the hospital after the Congress came to power. “Rama Rao should know that it was the BRS government that did everything to undermine state-run healthcare and promote corporate hospitals. He has yet again shown how he favours corporate hospitals at the cost of government hospitals,” he said.
Rajanarasimha said Rama Rao appears intent on destroying the reputation of Gandhi Hospital and discourage patients going there and divert them to private hospitals. “And that is why he is levelling baseless allegations. It is shameful that even when in the opposition he continues to do the same,” the Minister added.
The minister said he too was born in Gandhi Hospital. “The people who come to government hospitals are not the rich but my people, commoners. We in the government are committed to protect every possible life. And if Rama Rao does not stop spreading such lies, then people will teach him a lesson,” the Health Minister said.
The government, meanwhile, also released the data with respect to deaths of mothers and children in Gandhi Hospital from 2022 till August 2024 which shows that the numbers reported for this August have not suddenly risen as claimed by Rama Rao.
Infograph
Maternal and child deaths in Gandhi Hospital in three years
Maternal deaths
Month – 2022 – 2023 – 2024
January – 7 – 10- 7
February – 6 – 6 – 5
March – 11 – 2 – 10
April – 3 – 6 – 7
May – 4 – 9 – 8
June – 5 – 19 – 6
July – 5 – 10 – 12
August – 8 – 5 – 13
September – 7 – 11
October – 7 – 14
November – 8 – 12
December – 13 – 8
Total – 84 – 112 – 68
Neonatal deaths
Month – 2022 – 2023 – 2024
January – 25 – 31 – 22
February – 20 – 36 – 12
March – 16 – 28 – 30
April – 21 – 25 – 16
May – 30 – 21 – 20
June – 22 – 22- 28
July – 24 – 29 – 29
August – 23 – 31 – 32
September – 29 – 25
October – 37 – 37
November – 42 – 37
December – 31 – 24
Total – 320 – 346 – 189
Paediatric deaths
Month – 2022 – 2023 – 2024
January – 4 – 8 – 3
February – 2 – 7 – 13
March – 5 – 6 – 6
April – 6 – 5 – 6
May – 12 – 5 – 6
June – 5 – 3 – 5
July – 8 – 3 – 4
August – 11 – 10 – 9
September – 10 – 5
October – 12 – 9
November – 11 – 9
December – 10 – 14
Total – 96 – 84 – 52
