Expecting mothers now face an unexpected threat at Rawalpindi’s Holy Family Hospital – infant-eating rats. Panic spread in the labour room of the hospital with the discovery of two newborns – one dead, one alive – severely bitten by hungry rats.
According to details, Tausir Ahmad from Sarai Kharbuza came to the hospital on Monday with his wife Rahila, who gave birth to their first son. After the delivery, she was shifted to the ward and the newborn was put outside the labour room, on a table. Meanwhile, a Pashtoon woman gave birth to a dead baby. The hospital staff also placed the deceased infant on the table, next to the living one. The staff then forgot them, and started attending other emergency cases.
When Rahila’s relatives demanded that the baby be brought out of the labour room, they were told that the infant could not be handed over without submitting a copy of its father’s national identity card. The argument consumed two hours as the relatives kept demanding the baby. On their insistence, a nurse went in to see the child. However, she was shocked to see a big rat nibbling on the baby’s face, as the poor infant cried in pain. Other rats were gorging on the dead baby. Upon seeing the horrible scene, the nurse cried, prompting other staff members to rush in. The injured baby was given immediate medical aid, and the dead baby was handed over to its heirs.
Initially, the staff tried to hide the actual situation from the parents. But after the relatives raised hue and cry, they were told what exactly had happened to the two babies.
The hospital’s medical superintendent has formed a four-member investigation team to probe the incident. Doctors however said that the condition of the baby was not serious.