The repeated failure of the air-conditioning system in the neo-natal intensive care unit (NICU) of the Chhatrapati Shahuji Maharaj Medical University during the past four days has led to the deaths of 12 infants.
“The NICU turns into a gas chamber as soon as the air conditioning system fails and this makes it difficult for the infants to breathe. Extreme weather conditions have been prevailing in Lucknow since the past one fortnight and this adversely affects everyone — more so the newborns,” admitted a junior doctor posted in the NICU. Prof S.S. Shankhwar, chief medical superintendent of the University, admitted that the air-conditioners had been tripping frequently due to voltage problems. However, he denied that the deaths of infant were due to AC failure.
“Children in the neo-natal ward are kept in room temperatures. So there is no question of them being adversely affected due to AC failure,” he said.
The father of a baby boy who expired on Tuesday, meanwhile, had a different story to tell. “When the AC plant tripped on Tuesday, we told the senior doctors about it. He told us to keep wiping their bodies with cold water and give them some breeze with a hand fan,” he said.