The Asian Age: Delhi: Saturday,
May 04, 2013.
About 600
children died in the government-run Kalawati Saran Children’s Hospital in New
Delhi during the span of four months, an RTI query has revealed posing serious
questions on the medical care and amenities at the hospital.
An RTI query
has revealed that total 619 children lost their lives in Kalawati Saran
Children’s Hospital, located in the heart of the national capital, Connaught
Place.
According to
the figures made available through the RTI query, on an average, about 150
children died a month, making an average of 5 deaths every day.
As per the
RTI reply, 246 children died at the Kalawati Saran Children’s Hospital during
October 2012, 152 in November 2012, 121 died in December and 100 children
succumbed in January.
The high
number of deaths at the hospital is appalling even as the Delhi government
allocates huge budgets for the health sector every year.
In the last
budget, chief minister Sheila Dikshit, who also holds the finance portfolio,
had said she wanted Delhi to be the health and well-being capital of the
country with emphasis on the holistic development of the sector. She also
emphasised on the increase of 33 per cent in the allocation for health sector
from `1,872 crores to `2,419 crores.
The RTI reply
data reflects the state of just one government-run hospital in the national
capital, but the accumulative data of all hospitals will provide a better
picture of the health sector in Delhi.
.JPG)
.JPG)
