49 infants die in B C Roy hospital in last 7 days

49 children have died in the city's state-run B C Roy Children's Hospital over the last seven days.
The largest referral children's hospital in the eastern region had been in the news for a large number of crib deaths in the past few years.
"49 child patients have died in our hospital in the last seven days, and almost all of them were brought in a critical condition," hospital sources said.
They said there were seven deaths in last 24 hours.
The sources, however, denied allegations of any medical negligence on the part of doctors and nursing staff.
Quoting reports submitted by a three-member probe committee set up by the State health department, Minister of State for Health Chandrima Bhattacharya told PTI that no medical negligence by the hospital authority had been found.

"During this season, children suffer a lot and most of the time they are brought in a critical state at this only referral hospital for children. Situation is nothing abnormal," Bhattacharya said after her meeting with the hospital authority.

"Despite this, we have strengthened our medical team, nursing staff and infrastructure in the hospital to reduce the number of mortalities," she said.
Chairman of the task force formed to supervise child health care, Tridib Banerjee had earlier said, "The health department has been struggling to take the best of child health care as per instruction of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee."

"We have been striving to ensure that not a single infant dies for want of proper health care and treatment," he had said.
Sources said death rate in the hospital was generally five to six per day and "in this case it is seven (per day) in the last seven days."
According to hospital authorities, 70 terminally ill child patients are, on an average, brought to this hospital every day, and best of care is given to them.
The hospital was in the news when it reported 18 deaths within 48 hours on July 1, 2011.
According to reports, 22 infants died in three days in this premier referral hospital in 2002 and 14 in 2006.