As per the latest report, a case has been registered against the dean, the hospital superintendent and several other doctors.
Dr. Shyamrao Wakode, the dean of Dr. Shankarrao Chavan Government Medical College & Hospital in Nanded, was booked for the death of an infant and his mother at the hospital. The complaint in this regard was filed by the relatives of the child and the woman.
While the kin of several deceased patients alleged negligence and shortage of medicines at the hospital, Maharashtra Medical Education Minister Hasan Mushrif said the deaths will be inquired into to establish the cause. He also promised that the facilities will improve at the hospital in the next 15 days.
There was no shortage of medicines at the hospital and maintained that if the deaths occurred due to anyone's negligence, action would be taken against that person, he added.
On Tuesday, October 3, social media users circulated videos and images of acting dean Dr. S. R. Wakode and another doctor being forced to clean the washrooms. The incident occured when MLA Patil of Hingoli visited the hospital. He claimed that the dean's personal washroom was broken and lacked a water supply. A different washroom served as a storage area. He claimed that it seemed that the restrooms had not been cleaned in months.
In response to this incident, Dr. Wakode has filed an FIR against MLA Hemant Patil under the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
The dean has also now received support from the Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors (MARD) after he was ordered to clean the hospital's restrooms by Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena MLA Hemant Pat.
This development comes in light of the recent tragedy at the hospital, where 37 fatalities occurred so far. As many as 31 deaths, including those of infants, were recorded at the hospital in 48 hours since September 30. Six more deaths were recorded in 24 hours from October 2 to 3, an official told news agency on Wednesday, October 4.
A demonstration was also held to denounce the politician's "misbehaviour" by the Indian Medical Association, medical students, members of the Maharashtra State Medical Teachers Association, and many independent doctors.
Resident doctors all over maharashtra continued the Nation wide protest to expedite the NEET PG COUNSELLING.
— CENTRAL_MARD (@Central_MARD) December 6, 2021
Withdrawal of OPD services from today 6/12/21 onwards@FordaIndia @FAIMA_INDIA_ @imajdnnational @ANI @zee24taasnews @abpmajhatv @lokmat @SakalMediaNews pic.twitter.com/1nBREku3rB
The association has released a statement saying, "The unfortunate incident of multiple deaths that occurred in the Government Medical College was investigated by Central MARD after having elaborate discussions with the resident doctors of multiple departments of the said hospital, and it was clearly apparent that the reasons for the unfortunate event were primarily due to multifactorial causes, which include a shortage of medical faculty, a shortage of class 3 and class 4 staff, medical servants, overall manpower, life-saving medicines, and resources."
Central MARD demands an unconditional apology from MP Hemant Patil for abusing. harassing and humiliating the Dean of the Medical college without waiting for proper investigation to seek out the root cause of the tragedy.@mieknathshinde @FordaIndia @FAIMA_INDIA_ @IMAIndiaOrg pic.twitter.com/S5OVCx8sdv
— CENTRAL_MARD (@Central_MARD) October 3, 2023
Following the directive, Central MARD conducted an investigation into the incident involving a significant deaths at the Government Medical College. Their findings highlighted several factors contributing to these tragic events, including a shortage of medical faculty, class 3 and class 4 staff, medical servants, and an overall lack of manpower.
According to reports, many of the fatalities were critically ill patients who were referred from private facilities to public hospitals at the last minute. This practice is reportedly done by private hospitals to keep their death toll low.
Despite this, about 55.3% of those surveyed in the 75th National Sample Survey prefer private healthcare. In Maharashtra, 73.7% of people who were hospitalised (excluding childbirth) received their care in private facilities.
Maharashtra had a robust public health system until the 1980s, when many private medical schools began to emerge. Doctors graduating from these universities often establish their own private hospitals instead of joining the public health system.
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