Sishu Bhawan Superintendent shifted

Odisha Channel Bureau Bhubaneswar: Naveen Patnaik Government today transferred the Superintendent and two other doctors of Sishu Bhavan in an attempt to give the impression that it is concerned about the large scale infant deaths at the State premier paediatrics hospital at Cuttack.The government took the action against the hospital staff ahead of the proposed visit of Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi to Sishu Bhavan on September 11.Interestingly, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had not thought it fit to pay a visit to Sishu Bhavan when more than 60 infants and children died at the paediatrics hospital within two weeks starting from August 20.State Health Minister Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak had visited Sishu Bhavan after opposition Congress and BJP took the issued when the media highlighted the large scale deaths in the hospital primarily due to lack of infrastructure and staff crunch.Sishu Bhavan Superintendent Niranjan Mohanty and two senior doctors were transferred a day after State Health Secretary Arati Ahuja announced that action would be taken on the basis of the report submitted by the Director of Medical Education and Training (DMET).Mohanty has been transferred to the MKCG Medical College and Hospital at Berhampur.Ahuja had made the statement on a day when Congress announced about the scheduled visit of Rahul Gandhi to Sishu Bhavan a day after his `save farmers march’ in Bargarh district of the State.Justifying the late reaction of the State Government, the Health Secretary told media persons on Tuesday that the DMET report found no clinical negligence at Sishu Bhavan, but it highlighted shortcomings in the management of the intensive care unit and duty chart.In what appeared to be a face-saving gesture, Ahuja announced that the State Government has decided to strengthen paediatrics ICUs at three State-run medical college hospitals at Cuttack, Burla and Berhampur, the Capital Hospital in Bhubaneswar and Ispat General Hospital at Rourkela.This apart, the government would soon formulate referral protocol in a bid to reduce burden on Sishu Bhavan, which presently receives about 450 patients every day, she added.As the deaths continued to occur at Sishu Bhavan last month, the State government had suspended six employees of the hospital.Since the government did not take any drastic measures, the number of admission of patients at Sishu Bhavan had decreased drastically with people admitting their ailing children in private hospitals in different parts of the State.