Over 8,200 kids` deaths at Safdarjung Hospital: NHRC seeks explanation

NHRC on Friday issued notice to Union Health Secy and Medical Superintendent of Safdarjung Hospital here on a complaint alleging that more than 8,200 children have died at the institution in the past five years.

New Delhi: National Human Rights Commission Friday issued notice to Union Health Secretary and Medical Superintendent of Safdarjung Hospital here on a complaint alleging that more than 8,200 children have died at the institution in the past five years.

The NHRC issued the notices returnable in four weeks on the complaint by R H Bansal alleging that more than 8,200 children up to the age of five years died during the last five years in Safdarjung Hospital. In his complaint, he also alleged that out of the 8,200 children, about 3000 were newly born. In his petition to the NHRC, Bansal has claimed that he got the information from the hospital under RTI. "He has also alleged that five out of 18 ventilators for children were not functional. The conditions were unhygienic and there was an acute shortage of essential services at the hospital. "He has also alleged that women were also dying during pregnancy in the hospital," an NHRC statement said. The NHRC had yesterday issued a notice to the Union Health Secretary on a complaint alleging that three government hospitals in the capital conducted illegal clinical drug trials on nearly 3,500 children during the last five years. The hospitals are Safdarjung Hospital (2,056 children), Kalawati Saran Children Hospital (1,023) and Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Hospital (400). PTI