Must report if there is any case of infant death: State tells hosp superintendents

kolkata: Barely within a month after the state had decided to conduct audit of cesarean deliveries in both private and government hospitals to further minimise the infant mortality rate, health department has now directed all the superintendents of hospitals to report to the district health officials and also to join a virtual meeting with Swasthya Bhawan if there is a single case of infant death in their hospitals.

During the virtual meeting with Swasthya Bhawan, the hospital superintendents and concerned doctors will have to explain to the health officials as to how an infant died.

They will also have to furnish the details relating to the delivery of the infant.

State health department has taken a strong approach to check unnecessary cesarean delivery by the private hospitals.

According to data, the infant mortality rate in Bengal stood at around 145 during 2007-09.

The number dropped to 94 in 2015-17. The number further rose up to 98 in 2016-18. Door-to-door awareness campaigns in the state were slightly hit in the past two years due to Covid, said a senior health official.

State health department already instructed audits relating to the birth of newborns. This is for the first time the state government has come up with a unique idea of carrying out an audit regarding cesarean delivery from this financial year to check the tendency of the private hospitals to conduct cesarean delivery unnecessarily only to make more money from the patients.

The new mechanism will help the government to monitor monthly data relating to the birth of newborns.

The government run hospitals will also have to undertake the audit regarding the birth of newborns as well. All the hospitals will have to furnish details regarding each and every cesarean delivery.

A form has to be filled up by a treating gynecologist in the hospital mentioning in detail as to why the cesarean delivery was carried out on a particular patient.

All these forms filled up in a particular month have to be submitted to Swasthya Bhawan by the hospitals within 5-10 of the very next month,

sources said.