After the Chief Medical Superintendent of Ballia district hospital in Uttar Pradesh was removed for linking the high number of deaths at the hospital to the ongoing heatwave in the region, the district magistrate on Sunday claimed that they have not yet got “solid evidence” linking the two.
On Sunday, Dr Divakar Singh was removed and sent to Azamgarh, allegedly after he made a remark about the cause of deaths. He had on Friday said that over 20 patients at the hospital died due to heat, PTI reported.
Issuing a clarificatiom, District Magistrate (Ballia) Ravindra Kumar said, “Deaths have been reported at Ballia district hospital on social media and newspapers… I had a detailed discussion with the chief medical officer… So far, no solid evidence has been found linking the deaths to heatwave.”
“In the past, the chief medical superintendent of the district hospital gave an unverified statement and was removed from his post by the government. All kinds of medicines like ORS and other facilities have been made available at all the hospitals in the district so that people don’t face any issues,” the DM was quoted as saying in a report by Indian Express.
Meanwhile, Dr AK Singh, Health Director Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, who is a part of the team constituted by the government to probe the deaths, said that they cannot confirm that weather could be one of the contributing factors to the deaths.
Most of the patients who are coming for treatment complain that they first had chest pain, difficulty in breathing, and then fever, he said. "The rest of the patients came to the hospital out of fear and panic. The other patients admitted include those who already had some prior illness. We are taking samples, and then only we can confirm the cause of death," he further said.
However, he admitted that coolers and other arrangements to counter heat in the hospital wards are insufficient.
Nearly 400 patients were admitted to the district hospital from June 15 to June 17, the health officials said.
"As per records of the district hospital, of the 54 deaths, 40 per cent of the patients had fever, while 60 per cent were suffering from other diseases. So far, only two persons have died due to heat stroke in the district," CMO Kumar told PTI.
Ballia, along with the entire central and eastern UP, is reeling under sultry weather. As per the India Meteorological Department, the maximum temperature in Ballia was recorded at 43.5 degrees Celsius on Sunday, six notches above normal.
Ruling out any chances of respite, the IMD said that the maximum temperature is likely to remain 41 degrees Celsius on June 19 in Uttar Pradesh.
