The neonatal intensive care unit at PMCH. Picture by Ranjeet Kumar Dey

Patna, May 29: The health department has created 222 posts for neonatal intensive care units of six government hospitals of the state.

The health department’s decision assumes significance because the neonatal intensive care units — a wing of the paediatric department that treats children up to two months of age — of different medical colleges do not have dedicated teams of doctors and paramedical staff. Neonatal intensive care unit is. Sources said the creation of these posts would put a burden of Rs 6,40,80,000 on the state exchequer.

Neonatal intensive care units run in the paediatric department of Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH), Nalanda Medical College and Hospital, Anugrah Narayan Medical College and Hospital (ANMCH) and Darbhanga Medical College and Hospital (DMCH). Similar units are being created in Shri Krishna Medical College and Hospital and Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College and Hospital.

At present, wherever neonatal intensive care unit runs in the paediatric department of medical colleges, doctors of paediatric department shuttle between the neonatal intensive care unit and the paediatric intensive care unit (treats children between two months and 14 years) of the hospital apart from attending to the work of the paediatric outpatient and emergency wings.

Hailing the initiative, a senior doctor of the PMCH’s paediatric department, who is also associated with the neonatal intensive care unit, said: “Creating new posts is a welcome decision but the existing posts need to be filled up first. What good the department will do if it only creates new posts without recruiting people? Three posts of associate professors are vacant in our department, while there are assistant professors willing to be promoted. But the department is not promoting them. The department should ensure that the existing posts are filled up first.”

He added: “Sheela Sinha is the in-charge of the PMCH’s neonatal intensive care unit. Another doctor heads the paediatric surgery wing. Both shuttle among their respective wings and the general and outpatient departments.”

A DMCH doctor said: “The norms laid by State Health Society, Bihar, mandate at least four doctors in each neonatal intensive care unit but none has that. So the health department’s initiative is good.”