Jan 13 (Reuters) - Russia has opened a criminal investigation into the deaths of nine newborn babies this month due to suspected negligence at a Siberian maternity hospital, authorities said on Tuesday.
The state Investigative Committee said staff were being questioned, medical records had been seized and forensic tests were under way to determine the cause of the deaths at Hospital No. 1 in Novokuznetsk, a city of half a million people.
The hospital said it had treated 32 babies in intensive care since December 1, including 17 who had been in a critical condition with "severe intrauterine infections".
"All the newborns received medical care in accordance with clinical guidelines. Unfortunately, nine babies did not survive," it said in a statement.
Four babies were still in intensive care and four others had been transferred to another hospital, it added.
WIDESPREAD ANGER AT THE DEATHS
The case, reported by state and independent news outlets, provoked widespread outrage.
Politicians, commentators and ordinary Russians asked how the country could hope to raise its birth rate - a priority set by President Vladimir Putin - if such tragedies were allowed to happen.
Lawmaker Yana Lantratova called it "a crime against the country".
Yekaterina Mizulina, the influential head of a lobbying group that promotes censorship of the internet, accused local authorities of lacking "any shred of compassion" after the regional health minister confirmed the deaths on TV but failed to express condolences to the families.
"How can young people decide to have children when they see this kind of thing happening around them?" she asked.
Ilya Seredyuk, governor of the Kuzbass region of Siberia where the hospital is located, said its main doctor had been suspended from his post while the investigation was under way.
INSPECTIONS OF MATERNITY HOSPITALS ORDERED
His announcement on the Telegram messaging channel prompted dozens of shocked and angry comments about the state of the health system, and demands for the firing of top officials.
The scandal has potential nationwide repercussions. The governor of Vologda region in northwest Russia, some 3,000 km (1,800 miles) from Novokuznetsk, said he had ordered a major inspection of maternity hospitals.
Russia's war in Ukraine has squeezed healthcare funding, which is set to fall to 4.3% of the budget this year from 6% in 2021, the last full year before the conflict started. Spending on defence and security soared to 40% of the budget in 2025 from 24% in 2021, and is set to account for 38% this year.
The hospital said on its website that it had suspended admissions because of an excess of respiratory infections, and was carrying out quarantine measures. It did not cite the babies' deaths as the reason for not taking in new patients.
(Additional reporting by Darya Korsunskaya; Editing by Alison Williams)
