Maharashtra govt facility in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar records 18 deaths in 24 hours: Official

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At least 18 deaths were recorded at the Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) in Maharashtra's Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar within 24 hours ending at 8 am on Tuesday, an official told news agency PTI.

This comes against the backdrop of 24 deaths at the Dr Shankarrao Chavan Government Medical College and Hospital in Nanded, also in Marathwada, in 24 hours between September 30 and October 1 and seven more fatalities between October 1 and 2, taking the tally to 31 in 48 hours, according to officials, reported PTI.

"18 deaths were recorded at the Government Medical College and Hospital in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar between 8 am on October 2 and 8 am on October 3," the hospital medical superintendent told PTI.

He said out of the 18 deaths recorded at the GMCH, four persons were brought dead.

"Among the 18, two patients died due to heart attack while two others were suffering from pneumonia. Another three deceased patients were suffering from renal failure and another with liver failure. One patient died due to the failure of liver and kidney. One casualty each was reported due to road accident, poisoning, and infection after appendix burst," the hospital medical superintendent told PTI.

The official said two pre-term babies died on the sixth day of treatment (between October 2 and 3) at the hospital. "They were pre-term babies and weighed only 1,300 grams each," the hospital medical superintendent told PTI.

The official said the facility was not running short on life-saving drugs.

"We are ascertaining which are the last-minute referrals to the GMCH among these cases (18 fatalities)," the official told PTI.

He said the facility has the permission for 1,177 beds but anytime more than 1,600 patients remain admitted.

"As this facility is a tertiary care unit, we had nearly 28,000 admissions last month. Out of these admissions, 419 deaths were recorded with us (in September). The percentage is 1.45 per cent," the official told PTI.

Patients from various districts of the Marathwada region and cities in north Maharashtra visit the GMCH.

A day after it came to light that 24 patients died in a 24-hour period at a government-run hospital in Maharashtra's Nanded, the authorities on Tuesday confirmed that seven more deaths occurred at the same facility between October 1 and 2.

The District Information Office (DIO) of Nanded, located around 280 km from here, confirmed this on a social media platform, which took the total count of the deceased patients in the hospital in 48 hours to 31.

Earlier, 24 deaths were reported at the Dr Shankarrao Chavan Government Medical College and Hospital in Nanded in 24 hours between September 30 and October 1. Twelve of the 24 deceased were infants, a top Maharashtra health department official said on Monday.

In a social media post, the Nanded DIO said, "The facts related to the death of patients at Dr Shankarrao Chavan Government Medical College and Hospital is as follows: 24 deaths between September 30 and October 1; seven deaths between October 1 and 2."

"Please do not panic. A team of doctors is ready," it added.

(With inputs from PTI)