The sad and sadly unsurprising news item is headlined [1], 35 children die in Kolkata hospital in
five days.
This
happened in the “state-run B C Roy Children’s Hospital … [t]he largest referral
children’s hospital in the eastern region” of the country.
Obviously,
then, the state government / administration is accountable for these deaths.
Let
us not be so quick to condemn the government and its machinery. Let us read through
the article a little more. Hospital sources are reported to have claimed that
most of the dead children were brought to them in “moribund condition”. Is this
self-serving? Could be. But, could there also be some truth behind this claim? We
must admit to that possibility.
It
is a referral hospital. Therefore, the claim that many of the patients come in
too late to be saved sounds not implausible.
Let
us continue reading. The same sources also claimed that the normal death rate
was five to six per day, and in this case it has averaged seven over five days.
Is that a red alert? It is and is not.
I
am not a statistician but no statistician may, thankfully, have a large enough database
to do a statistical analyses. But, as a layman, I may venture to say that the
situation may not come under the category of an “outlier” (don’t ask me to
define this). Yet, considering that this happened over a period seven days is a
cause for concern, may point to systemic deficiencies.
The
hospital claims that on an average 70 terminally ill child patients are brought
to the hospital. It is callous of me to say this – but looking at the numbers
dispassionately (inappropriate, of course) – the hospital loses seven children
out of the “terminally ill”. That is, within the context of triage, the situation may not be too
adversely judged, particularly when media breast-beating is absent at five or
six deaths per day in the same hospital.
The
above must take us into the realm of analyzing the why rather than the what of
the situation. It is a referral hospital that anchors the eastern region of the
country, to repeat myself. What are the health facilities there, and how
dispersed are they? What is the first-mile connectivity for medical facility? What
are the transport facilities? How accessible and affordable are these? Are the
people educated enough to recognize that early interventions can help achieve
more optimistic prognoses?
The
answers to all these questions (and many more) lead to profound and persistent
pessimism. Who is accountable for this mood of despondence?
Those
who do not, or refuse to, understand the arguments made by philosophers,
economists, development experts, like Martha Nussbaum, Amartya Sen, Jean Dreze,
Aruna Roy, Harsh Mander and many others have to share in the responsibility.
No, I am not letting the experts go off so easily, without scrutiny. They have
to work towards infiltrating the mind of the media, governance machinery,
indeed the civil society with their messages. That they may be doing already
doing so is cold comfort for the parents of the 35 dead children. Intensify.
Therefore,
the accountability pervades society, but does not allow anyone to go scot free.
The hospital, of course, is accountable; the state government is too; the
central government is also in the picture; the corporates are; the individual
and also the collective, civil society, each one is accountable.
To
reach even this level of awareness, I have to read between the lines of newspaper
reports or hear in the pauses of talking heads on TV. That is where my
proximate responsibility lies and accountability infuses itself in the process.
I have to be accountable to myself.
Am
I ready for that?
References
2 comments:
"Are the people educated enough to recognize that early interventions can help achieve more optimistic prognoses?"
In the context of the profile of families who take their children to this particular Hospital (or to any other Hospital for that matter), the first part of the question is the crucial leading question. Apart from everything else (about doctor patient ratio, last mile connectivity etc.) the level of awareness among parents about general hygiene and age appropriate precautionary prophylactic treatment for children is almost nonexistent.
I remember that sometime ago, a young mother in WB had inadvertently choked her infant to death because she lovingly chose to share roasted groundnut with her infant.This of course has nothing to do with the hospital facilities, but this kind of abysmal ignorance and lack of common sense come to mind in this context.
Thanks Aditi ... This precisely is the thought behind the sentence you quoted ... Make people aware. But, Aditi, now I work for an MNC, and for whatever reasons, the company is obsessed with safety. Yet, the people who preach safety do not connect at the level of awareness and limit themselves to mechanical aspects, like the check list. When I try to engage my colleagues, they exhibit an attitude of mere tolerance. Now, let us talk about the rural folks who have to trek kilometres to access even primary healthcare. Similar negatives must be prevalent in urban areas also.
Thanks again for highlighting the aspect of my post that resonated with you.
RE
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