By Indo-Asian News Service
Raipur: As many as 178 newborn babies died at a government-run district hospital in Chhattisgarh during January-May 2007, Health Minister Amar Agrawal told the state assembly Tuesday.
Amid protests and allegations by the opposition Congress members about the lack of basic medical facilities at the hospital, Agrawal said the hospital in Raigarh district had reported 424 deaths of newly born babies in 2006 and 421 such deaths in 2005.
Responding to the opposition charges, the minister said that the government had served a show-cause notice to the civil surgeon of the hospital and two other doctors.
He said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government would review medical facilities at the hospital and do its best to improve infrastructure and facilities.
The minister said the government hospitals across the state were short of 2,000 doctors.