First death not on list of four, inquiry launched

: There were five deaths, not four, from among the children of Nirvana Rajkiya Bal Griha who were admitted at Lok Bandhu Hospital, officials said.

A 16-year-old girl was the first to be admitted to the hospital and the first to die. Now, an investigation has been launched into why her name was not on the list of deaths announced later.

“The girl was admitted at around 1am on March 21, and by 4.19am she was referred to a higher centre, as her condition had worsened. She too had presented with similar symptoms as the rest of the children that arrived after her. But further details are still being determined,” said Dr Rajeev Dixit, chief medical superintendent of Lok Bandhu Hospital. Confirming the same, Balrampur Hospital director Dr Sanjay Teotia said, “The patient came to the hospital in the early hours of the morning, but was declared ‘brought dead,’ and consequently sent for post-mortem.”

“An inquiry has been launched on the orders of hospital director Dr Saroj Kumar into why the girl’s name was missing from the list,” Dr Dixit said. “The doctor on duty at the time, as well as the interns present, has been called tomorrow to give their statements. We must investigate why her name was the only one not included in the list of referred patients,” he said.

The CMS added, “We knew she had similar symptoms as the rest of the patients that came after, along with mental disabilities and other issues.”

“We have been given two days for the inquiry, but we will complete it by Saturday evening and share the results,” the hospital authorities said.