A mother outside BC Roy

Calcutta, Nov. 7: The Bengal health department is set to give a clean chit to BC Roy Memorial Hospital for Children in its inquiry report.

“Preliminary investigations suggest everything was all right on the hospital authority’s part. There was no negligence,” a senior health official said.

He indicated that this would be reflected in the final report, to be submitted to the government in a couple of weeks.

A committee headed by director of medical education Jayashree Mitra Ghosh is probing the deaths of 22 babies in three days at the hospital.

Sources said three more children have died since last night.

“The chief minister visited the hospital on November 2 and was convinced that there was no negligence,” the official said.

“The fact that the number of patients is much more than the number of beds shows the real picture. Most of the babies are brought in very serious condition and are beyond treatment,” the official said.

According to officials in the probe team, the condition of the babies who died was so bad that even ventilator support would not have helped.

The hospital neither has a ventilator nor an intensive care unit.

“Things are likely to improve once the new building with 110 beds is commissioned in January,” the official said. The new building will house neonatal and paediatric intensive care units.

The number of admissions at the hospital has gone down significantly since the serial deaths came to light.

Hospital sources said there are about 250 patients now. The number was over 300 a few days ago.

Of the 250 beds, 40 are paid and 50 others are for post-operative patients. There should not be more than one baby in any of these beds. In the rest, as many as three children are placed at times.

Trinamul Congress activists continued their agitation today, blaring slogans on loudspeakers and creating a nuisance for those admitted.