SARGODHA - Four more infants died in District Headquarters Hospital here on Thursday taking the death toll to 12 over the past 48 hours.
The children died due to lack of Oxygen and other treatment facilities at the DHQ Hospital.
The parents of the deceased children claimed that their children died due to lack of incubators and other facilities at the hospital. They added that they informed the administration about the situation but they ignored their complaints.
Medical Superintendent (MS) Doctor Iqbal Sami confirmed the deaths and rejected parents’ complaints that the DHQ lacked facilities. He said that children were brought to the hospital in serious condition and doctors made hectic efforts to save their lives. At least 80 infants were admitted to the hospital whereas the number of available incubators is merely five. Moreover, Government Maula Baksh Hospital which is the only hospital in the city with maternity service is lacked any nursing ward due to which children are get shifted to District Teaching Hospital that is half kilometre away.
The Punjab CM sought a report from the Health Secretary whereas District Teaching Hospital MS Dr Iqbal Sami has constituted a committee comprising Dr Arshad Rauf, Dr Shahid Manzoor, and Dr Rabbiya Hashim to probe the incident.
Earlier, at least eight children aged between 2 to 8 hours died of negligence at District Headquarter Hospital on Wednesday. Relatives of the infants alleged hospital administration for negligence and claimed that oxygen disruption led to the deaths.