Two senior doctors at a hospital in southern Russia have been detained following the tragic deaths of nine newborn babies in the first weeks of January. The fatalities have sparked national outrage and serious questions about medical standards in some of the country's regional facilities.
Arrests and Allegations of Negligence
Authorities have confirmed the arrest of the chief doctor and the acting head of the intensive care unit at Hospital No. 1 in Novokuznetsk, a city in southern Siberia. The pair are being held on suspicion of negligence and causing death by negligence.
Svetlana Petrenko, a spokeswoman for the State Investigative Committee, stated that the infants' deaths resulted from the suspects' "improper performance of their official and professional duties in organising and providing medical care." Video released by investigators showed one man being led away in handcuffs.
A Tragedy During the New Year Holiday
The nine babies were all born between 1 December and 12 January and died during Russia's extended New Year holiday period. The exact causes of their deaths have not been officially confirmed, but the hospital had reportedly received multiple warnings prior to the incident.
According to the Russian newspaper Argumenty i Fakty, the hospital received at least five warnings from health authorities between August and November. Subsequent inspections revealed a critical lack of necessary medicines for certain conditions.
Public Outcry and Systemic Concerns
The case has provoked widespread shock and anger across Russia, highlighting the vast disparity in healthcare standards between major cities and remote regional centres. Unverified reports in local media included harrowing accounts from parents, such as one woman who claimed her baby died after its arm was torn off during birth.
Prominent Russian doctor, Professor Pavel Vorobyov, criticised the hospital's response, stating staff should have "bust a gut" after the first death. "When nine people have died and everyone is silent, something very strange is going on," he was quoted as saying.
The tragedy has also ignited a political debate, with commentators and citizens questioning how Russia can hope to raise its birth rate—a key priority for President Vladimir Putin—if such failures in basic medical care are allowed to occur.
