By IANS,
New Delhi: Commenting on the recent infant deaths at B.C. Roy Children’s Hospital in Kolkata, Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad Saturday said the larger problem was the lack of doctors in rural areas.
He said the institution was a referral hospital and hence it was handling critical cases from several districts in West Bengal.
“A simple case is not sent to a referral hospital, the children are mostly brought in bad condition.
“Out of the 12 deaths that occurred till day before yesterday, only two were from Kolkata,” Azad said.
He said that the problem was the lack of healthcare at rural centres, due to which children had to be sent to cities.
“The problem is the shortage of human resource. Despite all incentives, doctors are not ready to go to rural areas,” he said.
Since Wednesday, 16 babies have died in Kolkata’s premier B.C. Roy Children’s Hospital.