Skeletons Found in SKMCH’s Backyard, AES Patients Continue to Suffer

After parts of human skeletons were recovered on Saturday from the backside of the government-run hospital Sri Krishna Medical College and Hospital (SKMCH) in Bihar’s Muzaffarpur, authorities have ordered an investigation into the matter.

SKMCH is the same hospital where more than 130 children have died due to Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES) in the past 20 days and over 100 children are being treated.

According to district health officials, the parts of human skeletons were recovered from behind the post-mortem house situated behind Sri Krishna Medical College and Hospital (SKMCH) premises. The hospital superintendent, S K Shahi, has ordered a probe.

Shahi told NewsClick that a team has been constituted to look into the matter. "It is a case of inhuman practice where bodies are thrown instead of performing last rites with dignity. The team has already visited the site from where parts of human skeletons were recovered. They would submit a report soon,” he said.

A senior doctor from SKMCH told NewsClick on condition of anonymity that hospital staff along with the health officials and police used to throw unclaimed bodies in the bushes instead of performing last rites – for which the government provides Rs 2,000 per body.

Patients Continue to Suffer

On the other hand, the AES patients and relatives at the SKMCH continue to suffer owing to the inadequate facilities. Stink is in the air, dirt is visible, drinking water is insufficient, and majority of the fans in the wards are not working. In the overcrowded wards – filled with AES-struck kids – many children are being forced to lie on the floor, while a bed is being shared by two-three patients.

The situation has not changed even after visits by Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar earlier this week.

“We are poor and helpless. We had to come here for treatment of our children affected by AES. But condition here is bad. There is stench of urine, chemicals and filth. The wards are not clean. These are overcrowded,” said Surendra Ram, a close relative of a critically ill child undergoing treatment, while speaking to NewsClick.

Ram said he has been visiting the hospital since a fortnight, but the situation has not changed. “Patients’ attendants are running from one place to another for drinking water, or are forced to purchase bottled water,” he added.

A nurse working with the hospital claimed that the situations has improved a little, but is still not better enough. “We are facing ire of patients’ parents and relatives,” she said.

Sarfaraz Alam, father of a daughter undergoing treatment at the hospital told NewsClick that the parents and relatives staying at the hospital ate becoming sick themselves. “This place is extremely unhygienic, and after running around throughout the day, there is no place for us to rest for a bit.”

Also read: Bihar CM Nitish Kumar Faces Protest During Visit to AES-hit Muzaffarpur

Sarfaraz, who works as a helper in a tailoring shop in Saraiya of Muzaffarpur, told NewsClick: “Some coolers have been installed in the wards, but the other things are more or less unchanged. Nurses and the cleaning staff do not even bother to clean the floor where the sick children are being laid to be treated.”

Subodh Paswan’s child has been shifted to the ward from the paediatric intensive care unit. He said, “If a seriously ill child is brought here at night, he will be lucky to get a place even on the floor for treatment.”

Dr Shahi said that in the view of the crisis, the prisoners’ ward has been converted into paediatric intensive care unit. “Earlier, we had also converted the general ICU into the paediatric intensive care unit. We are doing our best to treat children and accommodate all who are being brought here.”

According to district health officials, paediatric intensive care unit continues to receive patients. “There is a space crunch. Every possible space – whether on the floor, in corridors, on the beds and even beneath the beds – is full of patients and their attendants,” said a source.

The cause of this epidemic in North Bihar has still not been ascertained.

Union Health Minister Vardhan, who is himself a doctor, had examined several children at the SKMCH, during his visit. He had said that deaths of the children could have something to do with electrolyte imbalance and metabolic system. He, however, did not rule out viral infection or toxin effect as possible causes.

Dr Gopal Shanjar Sahni, head of department of paediatrics at SKMCH, said that AES outbreak has taken place during the peak summer. “We have collected information that suggests that children’s body temperature would shoot up followed by convulsion. They also suffer from hypoglycaemia and sodium deficiency.”

Dr Rajiv Kumar of Kejriwal Hospital said: “It is also common in children struck by AES that after sudden onset of fever, they suffer from mental disorientation. In such a situation, we have been advising parents to bring their children to the nearest PHC or hospital without delay for treatment. Chances of survival increase with early arrival.”

Also read: Most AES Victims in Bihar Are Dalits, EBCs and Muslims