HYDERABAD: A day after the tragic fire accident at Shine Children’s Hospital, LB Nagar, claimed the life of a four-month-old and injured five others, the condition of the injured infants remains critical. Meanwhile, family of one of the victims cried out for financial support from the government to meet the medical expenses.
Since the fire broke out in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), which usually admits children with critical health issues, the condition of the infants has gone from bad to worse. To add to that, the thick smoke that lingered in the room was breathed by the infants until fire officials broke open the windows.
Most of the children who were put on incubator were suffering from pneumonia, an infection that inflames the air sacs in the lungs making it even more difficult for the patient to breathe in. In the fire accident, the infants not only received burn injuries but also breathing complications, said a parent quoting a doctor.
"Except for the child’s mother, no one was allowed to see the child. Not even me. The doctors are not revealing anything about the condition of our child. My son suffered fewer burn injuries compared to other children, but underwent breathing issues," said Itharaju Giri, father of an infant who was undergoing treatment at Ankur Hospital in Boduppal. He had admitted his three-month-old baby boy to Shine hospital on the same day.
He now fears the hospital bills which he will have to pay at the time of discharge. "I paid nearly Rs 10,000 on the same day. Now, I am scared as these private hospitals would charge about Rs 50,000 for treatment," Giri, a truck driver said. He appealed to the government to help with at least hospital bills of the injured children. No government official has visited them since the tragedy, he added.