Fresh row as 25 lives lost within 24 hours in Nagpur's Mayo Hospital

At least 25 patients lost their lives in just 24 hours owing to various reasons at the government-run Mayo Hospital in Nagpur, sparking fresh questions on the wellbeing of Maharashtra's health system, on Wednesday.

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MP Supriya Sule highlighted the new deaths in a X post this morning, saying "Fear does not end here" and the "health system has collapsed and the government is sleeping".

"After the Thane, Nanded and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (incidents), now 25 patients also died in Nagpur. CM, Deputy CM have time to visit New Delhi, but no time to visit these hospitals," wrote Sule.

She alleged that for these leaders, the lives of the people of Maharashtra have no worth, and there is a shortage of medical supplies.

Incidentally, Nagpur is the state's second capital and the hometown of deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and Union minister Nitin Gadkari, plus prominent Opposition leaders.

Meanwhile, the toll in Dr Shankarrao Chavan Government Medical College and Hospital (Nanded) has shot up to 35, and from 10 to 18 in the Ghati Hospital (Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar), according to officials.

Congress leader of Opposition (assembly) Vijay Wadettiwar visited the two hospitals on Wednesday, while Shiv Sena (UBT)’s leader of Opposition (council) Ambadas Danve toured the Nanded hospital this morning.

Danve said patients informed him of various problems plaguing the hospital and how, owing to a delay in performing a cesarean section operation, a pregnant woman and her unborn child had died there.

With the latest spike in deaths, three government hospitals in three districts have recorded at least 78 deaths, including nearly 30 infants, owing to different lapses including alleged shortages of medicines, equipment, medical, or paramedical staffers.

On Tuesday, chief minister Eknath Shinde informed the media that a probe has been ordered into the Nanded hospital tragedy and once a report is received, "stringent punishment" will be handed out to those found guilty.