KOHAT: Lack of proper facilities including heating arrangements and negligence of staff has led to deaths of 136 newborns over the last three months at the Women and Children Hospital, Kohat.

This was disclosed to Dawn by a nurse, Ms Rashida, who is also the general secretary of the district nursing association.

She said these babies died in the labour room, gynecology and children wards of the hospital, adding that gas supply to the health centre often remained suspended.

Ms Rashida said that 36 children died in October, 55 in November and 44 December, 2014, respectively.

Besides lack of proper heating system, she said other causes which led to the high death incidence among the newborns included suffocation during delivery, prevalence of diseases like tetanus, hepatitis, dysentery and pneumonia and premature births. “Most of these deaths could have been prevented if proper facilities were made available in the hospital,” she added.

Meanwhile, an inquiry has been initiated into the death of three newborns in the labour room of WCH due to the strike of female nurses on December 29, 2014, a senior doctor at the hospital told Dawn on condition of not being named.

He added that the nurses had gone on strike after three of them were caught red-handed while taking bribe by the MS of KDA divisional headquarter hospital, Zaman Afridi, who is the administrator of both the hospitals.

The nurses also prescribed alternative injections to patients as they got commissions from the medical stores outside the hospital.

SCHOOLS’ SECURITY: Commissioner, Kohat division, Jamaluddin Shah has said that the educational institutions not meeting government security guidelines will not be given clearance to reopen on January 12.

The police will visit all the schools for reviewing security arrangements from Friday till Sunday before allowing them to reopen on January 12.

The schools and colleges, failing to take adequate security arrangements would remain shut unless they fulfilled the security guidelines, said Mr Jamaluddin while talking to a delegation of the private and government schools’ association at a meeting on Friday.

On the occasion, managements of three schools refused to reopen on Monday due to security threats and being unable to adopt foolproof security arrangements.

The principal of Iqra School and College, Haroon Niazi, told the meeting that he would not be able to open the institution as announced by the government. He said that he had hired ten guards for round the clock duty, but needed time to raise the boundary walls, purchase arms and ammunition for watchmen, and install CCTV cameras. He sought government help to provide walk-through gates for the school.

Published in Dawn January 10th , 2014

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