ADILABAD: It took a fire that killed five infants for Rajiv Gandhi Institutes of Medical Sciences, Adilabad to start preparing to use a Special Newborn Care Unit (SNCU) that had been ready for nearly a year.
On Wednesday, a day after the fire, workers were seen cleaning the never-used incubators and other equipment in the facility, scrubbing away months of accumulated dust and opening rooms that had remained locked.
The 22-bed SNCU is part of a critical-care block inaugurated in December last year. It has two more beds than the 20-bed SNCU where the fire broke out early on Tuesday, killing five infants.
The facility had been equipped with incubators and other equipment, but remained largely unused for almost a year. Only the outpatient facility on the ground floor was in use, while the other wards on the ground and first floors remained largely locked.
Whether the deaths could have been prevented cannot be established without the inquiry into the fire. But the timing has raised an uncomfortable question for RIMS: Why was a fully equipped newborn-care facility left unused for months when the hospital was continuing to treat critically ill babies in the old unit?
Hospital staff said the new SNCU can cater to the regular demand at RIMS, where around 30 to 35 deliveries take place on normal days and the number rises to 40 to 50 during June, July and August. Around five newborns are referred to the SNCU every day, they said, some from private hospitals and primary health centres.
The critical-care block, built with funds from the state and Union governments, has 50 beds. It was inaugurated by Union Minister G Kishan Reddy and district in-charge minister Jupally Krishna Rao, with new equipment, including incubators, installed in the facility.
The old SNCU has now been sealed following the fire. A preliminary assessment pointed to a short circuit and an air-conditioner-related fire, but the exact cause is to be established by the inquiry ordered by the state government.
The fire filled the old SNCU with thick smoke while 27 babies were inside. Staff and family members struggled to evacuate the infants, with some having to break glass panes to reach them.
The unit, ready since last year, is finally being put to the use for which it was built. RIMS director Jaisingh Rathod did not respond to calls.
Toll rises to 5, ex gratia announced
Adilabad/Hyderabad: The toll in the fire at the SNCU in RIMS, Adilabad rose to five on Wednesday with two more infants passing away while being shifted to Hyderabad for treatment. Meanwhile, the state government announced ex gratia of `5 lakh each to the families of the deceased. Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy has directed officials to provide assistance to each bereaved family