The news reports in the past week on the SVR Ruia government general hospital have one thing in common: infant deaths. As the hospital is said to be plagued by shortages on almost all fronts, such as infrastructure, doctors etc, superintendent of the hospital Dr Veeraswamy answers a few pertinent questions relating to deaths and lack of facilities at Ruia.
What is the reason for infant deaths?
Low birth weight and related complications are the real reasons for the death of these children. They are often brought to the hospital at the last minute when every other treatment has failed.
The hospital is said to be short-staffed. Why?
We are short staffed mainly because the vacant posts haven’t been filled so far. More beds and facilities are needed along with more doctors and paramedical staff. We have sent proposals to the state government asking them for an increase in the above mentioned shortages in addition to an increase in the budgetary allocations from `2.5 crore to Rs 10 crore.
Has TTD not sanctioned Rs 5 crore from Pranadhana Scheme?
Yes. Some six months ago, Rs 5 crore was sanctioned but we are yet to get the permission from the government to accept the same. I am working on it and the file is presently with principal secretary.