Odisha medical apathy: Miraculous escape for toddler and mother

The toddler Soumyajeet Das and his mother were sleeping when the portion of the roof above their bed chipped off and fell, missing them narrowly.
The toddler and his mother in the diarrhoea ward of DHH in Jagastinghpur. (Photo | EPS )
The toddler and his mother in the diarrhoea ward of DHH in Jagastinghpur. (Photo | EPS )

JAGATSINGHPUR:  A three-year-old boy undergoing treatment at the District Headquarters Hospital (DHH) here had a narrow escape along with his mother when a big chunk from the roof came down in the diarrhoea ward on Thursday evening. 

The toddler Soumyajeet Das and his mother were sleeping when the portion of the roof above their bed chipped off and fell, missing them narrowly.

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The DHH building is in a dilapidated condition. Walls of many wards have developed cracks and portions of roof chip off regularly. Worst affected are the OPD, diarrhoea, medicine and gynaecology wards.

The sub-divisional hospital was upgraded as DHH in 1993.

While the office of Chief District Medical Officer and other offices of Health Department were shifted to a new building nearby, the Casualty, OPD and the other wards continue to function from the old crumbling structure. 

In the absence of funds, renovation and repair of the old building is lacking. Although there was a plan to construct a mother-child care unit in the new building with 100 beds, it has not been started yet due to lack of land near the new DHH building. 

District Project Manager of NRHM, Chakradhar Jena said due to want of land for construction of new structures, various wards and OPD are functioning from the old DHH building. 

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