Hospital roof chips off, hits baby on head

BHUBANESWAR: In a bizarre incident, which spoke volumes about the ‘health’ of government health care institutions, a chunk of the roof of Municipal Hospital fell off and injured a 10-month-old baby here on Wednesday. The incident triggered angry reactions in the area.A few weeks back, a similar incident had occurred in Cuttack’s SCB Medical College and Hospital where a ceiling fan had fallen off hurting a patient.In the Wednesday’s incident, the baby was in the hospital for the measles immunisation programme. “Since my son has a congenital heart problem, we consult the doctors before any medication,” the baby’s father Smruti Ranjan Das said. After consultation, Smruti’s wife was on her way to the immunisation hall when a chunk of the roof fell off along the corridor, he added.The chunk hit the mother before falling on the head of the baby who was in her arms. The accident led to a swelling on the kid’s head and he was put under observation for a few hours.“It was an accident but the baby was not in danger,” Chief Medical Officer Dinabandhu Sahu said. The chunk being a small one, two by two inches in size, it did not cause any grave injury.While the incident led to a uproar at the hospital, the parents were advised to get a CT scan of the baby done in case of any adverse symptoms later.Mayor Anant Narayan Jena rushed to the spot to take stock of the situation.