A crucial conflict has erupted in the Nanded hospital in Maharashtra, where over 30 people died in only three days, prompting sharp criticism from the opposition political party. The victims succumbed in the Shankarrao Chavan Government Hospital in Nanded, Maharashtra, which garnered national headlines on Monday after they recorded 24 fatalities in 24 hours.
What is actually happening inside the Nanded Hospital
The deaths at Nanded Hospital highlight Maharashtra’s inadequate drug procurement system. The deaths of 31 patients in two days at the Maharashtra government-run Dr Shankarrao Chavan Government Medical College and Hospital in Nanded have once again highlighted the state’s flawed medicine procurement system, with a lack of medicines being cited as one of the causes of the tragedy.
Authorities confirmed seven more patient deaths between October 1 and 2, a day after it was revealed that 24 patients, including 12 newborns, died within a 24-hour period allegedly due to a lack of medical help and medicines, at a government-run hospital in Maharashtra’s Nanded. There have been 31 deaths in the Nanded hospital in the last 48 hours.
Behind these 31 fatalities are the heartbreaking stories of 31 families that tried everything to rescue their loved ones but failed. Some flew hundreds of kilometers, while others pawned valuables to cover treatment charges, yet a broken medical system let them down.
Political involvement in this case
In March of this year, Maharashtra passed the Medical Goods Procurement Authority Act, which established a single-point procurement and supply authority for certain medications, medical goods, medical consumables, devices, equipment, and so on for public hospitals and medical institutions. This was expected to do away with alleged delays in the procurement of medicines by the state-run Haffkine Bio-Pharmaceutical Corporation Limited.
Shiv Sena MP Hemant Patil on Tuesday ordered the interim dean of the Nanded hospital, where 31 people died in 48 hours, to clean a filthy toilet and urinals. The video went viral on all social networking platforms in no time.
It shows Hemant Patil handing over the broom to the dean, SR Wakode and making him clean the toilet as well as the wall mounted urinals. In the video, the Shiv Sena MP is heard saying that he would request the current Maharashtra Chief Minister, Eknath Shinde to file a case against those people who draw salaries from the government but are negligent in work. He also said that the government relentlessly spends crores, but the situation does not improve at all.
He also added that these toilets have not been cleaned for months and few are just locked in the wards of the Nanded hospital. There is also no water available in the toilets all over the hospital. Eknath Shinde stated that the state government took the fatalities at the Nanded hospital extremely seriously and promised appropriate action will be taken following a thorough investigation. He also denied any shortages of medical supplies or manpower.
Shiv Sena leader Aaditya Thackeray expressed profound sorrow and astonishment when news of another tragedy emerged, this time at Ghati Hospital in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (formerly Aurangabad), reflecting the recent sad events at the government hospital in Nanded.
The viral video controversy
A day after the video went viral, an FIR was filed against the Shiv Sena MP, Hemant Patil. He was charged under multiple provisions of the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, the Indian Penal Code, and the Maharashtra Medicare Service Persons and Medicare Service Institutions (Prevention of Violence and Property Damage or Loss) Act.
His actions were highly criticised by the Maharashtra State Association of Resident Doctors. They also demanded a heartfelt apology from Hemant Patil. According to the FIR, the dean felt pressure to clean toilets in broad daylight and that this was done in front of the media to create a spectacle for political mileage.
The doctor’s body further stated that the recent deaths at the Nanded hospital were caused by a lack of medical faculty, medical personnel, and life-saving medical supplies and resources, which were first denied by the Maharashtra Chief minister.
Statements from the patients and their family members
The father of a two-year-old girl with a persistent heart condition has been mopping the floor beneath her hospital bed. He described an allegedly negligent Nanded hospital personnel and a medication scarcity. She’s been hospitalised for approximately a week. She has a heart problem that necessitates surgery. However, the girl also has pneumonia, and her family travelled to this hospital to get her treated before travelling to Mumbai for surgery.
Another case is of Anjali from Nanded who was admitted to Dr Shankarrao Chavan Government Medical College and Hospital on Saturday. She later gave birth to a healthy baby. Her entire family was overjoyed at the news, but the joy did not last long. On Monday, medical professionals informed the family that the baby had died and that the mother was in critical condition. They told them today that she had also died as a result of her condition.
When questioned if the medical officials had informed them of the cause of death, the family stated that they had been told it was due to blood loss. They had, however, provided blood and made the required arrangements. They further commented that there are no proper doctors available here and no patient should visit the Nanded hospital
The families are not only obtaining medications from other sources, but they are also cleaning the surroundings around their patients’ hospital beds. As many as 71 individuals remain in serious condition at the hospital.
