Twin negligence: The Hindu Editorial on the Jhansi hospital fire
The fire in the neonatal intensive care unit of the Maharani Laxmi Bai Medical College in Jhansi district, Uttar Pradesh, where 10 newborns died on November 15 night, underscores the fatal intersection of severely neglected sectors in government budgeting and planning — health care and fire safety. There was an eerily similar incident in May this year, in a hospital in east Delhi. The neonatal care unit in Jhansi was operating at almost three times its capacity — there were 49 babies for incubators meant only for 18. Hospital staff have said that this number sometimes goes up to 60. This must not surprise given that in 2021, the doctor-patient ratio in U.P. was 1: 2,158. A point to be noted is that India’s doctor-patient ratio for 2024 is 1:836, which is well within the World Health Organi...