Four more children succumb to pneumonia
The state Health department has laid emphasis on the expansion of infrastructure in the state-run hospitals to cope with the current situation where children are dying due to pneumonia or acute respiratory infections. Incidentally, four children died in two state-run hospitals in the city on Wednesday.
Health Secretary Narayan Swaroop Nigam visited Dr BC Roy Hospital to take stock of the situation. The hospital has a huge rush of patients. Critical care beds will be increased at the earliest. Around 70 beds will be made operational at the second campus of the Dr BC Roy Hospital. Around 50 more beds have been increased at the Beliaghata ID Hospital.
According to a senior health official, most of the children who are dying have comorbidities while some of them suffered from malnutrition. In many cases, the children are being brought to the hospital from districts in critical conditions. The Health department has already directed all the district hospitals not to transfer patients to the city hospitals unnecessarily.
Two children died at Dr BC Roy Hospital on Wednesday while two others died at Calcutta Medical College. A 4-year-old child, a resident of Gobardanga in North 24-Parganas, who had been suffering from fever for the past few days, was admitted to this hospital on February 26. The child was initially treated at the Habra State General Hospital. She was put under ventilation as her condition turned critical. On Wednesday morning, the patient died of pneumonia. A four-day-old baby from Barasat in North 24-Parganas was admitted to Dr BC Roy Hospital on Sunday soon after her birth. She died at 4.55 am on Wednesday due to pneumonia as well. Nearly around 17 children have died at this hospital in the past five days.
A 22-day-old child from Howrah’s Bagnan died at the Calcutta Medical College and Hospital (CMCH). The child was admitted to the hospital on February 16 with fever and respiratory distress. The patient was referred from Uluberia hospital. A seven-month-old baby, a resident of Hooghly, was admitted to the CMCH on February 19 with fever and respiratory distress, died at the hospital. He was initially treated at a local hospital in Chinsurah.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee held a meeting on Tuesday and directed the Health department to take various steps to contain the spread of any infection.
