Children's death: Punjab govt to provide ventilators to Sargodha hospital

SARGODHA: Following the death of four children due to a shortage of medical oxygen, the Punjab government has directed to immediately provide two ventilators to DHQ Teaching Hospital in Sargodha, ARY News reported on Sunday.

Punjab Chief Secretary Kamran Ali Afzal has paid a visit to Sargodha’s District Headquarters (DHQ) Hospital after the death of four children due to medical oxygen shortage.

The medical superintendent (MS) of the DHQ Hospital briefed that chief secretary that medical facilities including medical oxygen were present at the paediatrics ward. He claimed that the cause of the death of the newborn children was not the shortage of oxygen.

The MS apprised Kamran Ali Afzal that the babies were born at their residences and brought to the hospital in critical condition.

The chief secretary issued directives to immediately provide two ventilators to the paediatrics ward of the hospital besides summoning a report regarding the issues being faced by the hospital administration. He said that all necessary resources related to healthcare will be provided by the provincial government.

Earlier, a team of health officials has launched an inquiry into the death of four children due to a shortage of medical oxygen at DHQ Teaching Hospital in Sargodha.

The team comprising the director health, chief executive officer, the hospital’s medical superintendent and principal will investigate the incident and furnish its findings to higher-ups.

Chief Minister Usman Buzdar took notice of the death of the four children due to oxygen shortage and sought a report from the health secretary and Sargodha commissioner.

He instructed them to fix responsibility for negligence that led to the incident. The chief minister extended condolence to families of the deceased children.