DADU, April 23: Ten babies’ death in Dadu Civil Hospital during past one week has failed to jolt doctors out of their apathy who refuse to accept their responsibility and dismiss them as natural deaths.

The World Health Organisation set up a camp in the hospital on Tuesday to monitor the babies’ cases after four babies’ death during last 24 hours. The WHO representative Dr Ahmed Bux Jakhrani visited the hospital’s child ward and collected information about the babies’ death.

An attendant of a newborn baby, Mukhtiar Ali, confirmed to journalists the babies’ death during last 24 hours and said that two to three babies had been placed on one bed.

He alleged that the hospital did not provide drugs to the poor patients forcing them to buy medicines from private stores. The hospital’s administration refused to share details about the deaths and Dr Mohammad Ismail Lashari termed them natural.

He said that one of the reasons behind increasing mortality rate among the newborn was that people usually brought their babies to hospital when their condition became serious.

“People do not care much about their babies after birth due to lack of awareness and mostly they are dying at their homes and they bring them after death,” he said. He refused to give more details saying he was on leave so had no further details.

An office-bearer of Citizen Action Committee, Gul Mohammad Joyo, demanded that the child ward of the hospital should be provided equipment and facilities to save babies from sudden death.

The medical superintendent of the hospital refused to be drawn on the babies’ deaths insisting they did not die due to lack of facilities and or negligence of doctors.

WATER: Consisting of 125,000 souls, Dadu lacks civic amenities as drainage and water supply systems have almost failed in the city due to alleged apathy of officials. According to a survey conducted by this correspondent, a large number of people criticised these officials for failing to provide facilities.