A child suffering from respiratory infection died at the Dr BC Roy Post Graduate Institute of Paediatric Sciences on Tuesday. The arrival of patients from districts to Kolkata’s government hospitals continues.
An official said that till Tuesday evening, one death of a child suffering from an acute respiratory infection had been reported from Dr BC Roy Institute.
Earlier on Monday, the state health department issued an order cancelling the leave of all health officials and doctors in hospitals who are associated with the treatment of acute respiratory infection cases.
The cancellation of leave was ordered to ensure enough doctors were always present in a hospital to treat children suffering from such problems.
The order says the leave of principals, medical superintendent-cum vice-principals, superintendents, additional superintendents, deputy superintendents, assistant superintendents, paediatricians, faculty members and medical officers in critical care units who are associated with the management of acute respiratory infection cases was cancelled.
The leave of the chief and deputy chief medical officer of health in each district has been cancelled, too.
“All are to be present at their stations considering the present situation in the state,” the order reads.
The order does not mention till when the leave will remain cancelled. The order also says all fever clinics in hospitals must function 24X7.
The state health department had on February 28 issued an advisory asking all medical colleges, district hospitals, superspeciality hospitals, sub-divisional hospitals and state general hospitals to run paediatric ARI clinics.
The government hospitals in the districts have been repeatedly asked to refer children to hospitals in Kolkata only when the treatment is not possible there.
Despite the advisories, sick children from various hospitals in districts are coming to hospitals in Kolkata in large numbers.
Apart from the referrals, some parents are directly bringing their children to Kolkata hospitals in the hope that the kids will get better treatment in the city.
An official at Dr BC Roy hospital said about 50 children were being admitted to the hospital every day and half of them were suffering from acute respiratory infections.
There was a slight drop in admission numbers on Tuesday, the official said, attributing the fall to the lack of adequate public transport during the day because of Holi.
The hospital has about 500 children admitted, the official said.
Metro reported on Tuesday that officials and doctors working in districts said tertiary care hospitals there lacked various facilities that are available in hospitals of the same status in Kolkata. Also, such hospitals in districts lack adequate number paediatricians.
