BRS to constitute fact-finding team to probe maternal and infant mortality at Gandhi Hospital

Data on pediatric and maternal deaths at Gandhi Hospital in Hyderabad, of financial years 2022-23, 2023-24 and 2024 -25 until August.
| Photo Credit: The Hindu Graphics

Bharat Rashtra Samiti (BRS) has decided to constitute a fact-finding committee of party leaders to probe the maternal and infant deaths at Gandhi Hospital in Hyderabad.

A day after Telangana Government responded immediately to the charge of rising deaths in Gandhi Hospital with statistics, the BRS decided to form the committee comprising experts, who will conduct a detailed study of the situation and share its finding with both the Government and the public.

In a press release issued on Thursday (September 19, 2024), BRS working president K.T. Rama Rao (KTR) urged the government to cooperate with this initiative and accept the advice and suggestions provided by the opposition in order to improve public health.

KTR criticised the government for diverting attention from solving the issue and engaging in blame games instead.

The BRS working president questioned whether the government had conducted any review on the deaths or taken steps to ensure quality healthcare. He also raised concerns over the alleged transfer of senior doctors from the hospital, which may have caused disruptions in providing medical services. He urged the government to address this issue and make efforts to reduce the mortality rate.
KTR said: “Are you blaming us for raising the issue that infants are dying without proper medical care?” He further questioned the government’s claims saying, “If the BRS was really trying to favour private hospitals, why would we build large public hospitals around Hyderabad, construct the largest hospital in Warangal, establish Basti Dawakhanas, and clinics in rural areas? Would we have set up 33 medical colleges when there were only two earlier?”
He urged the administration to act with humanity, reminding them that the lives lost cannot be brought back, and that every life is precious. He stressed that the deaths in government hospitals should not be seen as mere numbers but as the loss of a child or mother from a family and that the government should approach the issue with compassion.