Infant dies of malnutrition, 7 officials served notices:CMHO questions negligence, seeks explanation; delayed screening blamed for death

In Satna district’s Majhgawan block, the Health Department has taken strict action in the case of the death of four-month-old Supranshi due to malnutrition in Surangi village. Chief Medical and Health Officer Dr Manoj Shukla has issued show-cause notices to seven employees after finding prima facie negligence and sought their explanation. According to the inquiry report, Supranshi and her brother Naitik had birth weights of 2 kg and 1.90 kg respectively, which were below normal. Considering their critical condition, they were being referred to Rewa, but Supranshi died while being shifted into the ambulance. Lapses in health services exposed A joint report by the Women and Child Development Department and the Health Department has revealed several serious lapses, including failure to conduct timely screening of the children. Dr Pooja Shukla, RBSK Medical Officer at the Primary Health Centre Nayagaon, has been accused of not conducting regular screening and failing to identify high-risk infants. Despite symptoms such as vomiting, diarrhoea, malnutrition and dehydration, proper tracking and follow-up were not carried out. The family was also not referred for better treatment in time, and lack of coordination among ANM, CHO and anganwadi workers was observed. Notices to other staff Show-cause notices have also been issued to RBSK Medical Officer Dr Dhanesh Dwivedi, Central Medical Officer Dr Dhanendra Pandey, Block Community Mobiliser Devmuni Patel, Sector Supervisor Kamlesh Chandra Singh, CHO Dr Pushpendra Gupta and ANM Vidya Chakravarti of Sub Health Centre Chaubepur. The CMHO has directed all concerned employees to respond within the stipulated time. The department has made it clear that strict action will be taken if satisfactory replies are not received. In a related development, a four-month-old girl died of malnutrition in Satna, while her twin brother remains critical and has been admitted to the PICU after being referred to a higher centre in Rewa.