Danishwar Hameed
The family of a 6-year-old child admitted at District Hospital of Kulgam along attendants of several other patients alleged that the minor boy died of medical negligence at the hospital.
Officials including the Tehsildar of Kulgam met the family of the deceased and assured an investigation into the incident. The officials ensured the families that action will be taken against anyone found guilty.
Speaking to The Kashmiriyat on camera, at least six families including the family of the deceased Abu Talha son of Tawseef Ahmed Ganie, a resident of Shopian alleged that the boy died of medical negligence at the central hospital of Southern Kashmir’s Kulgam district.
A resident of Motjan in Shopian, the family had admitted Talha at the hospital on Monday. “Initially the doctors did check him and recommended some medicines, however, starting evening on Monday, till the moment he died, we have not seen any doctor in the ward,” his after said.
He said that Talha was admitted at the hospital after he vomited, but till today morning, his condition kept growing worse with no medical help available for the entire night. “Me along with two of my friends were attending to him and the medical staff was also scarcely available for the entire night,” said a youngster, who also testified Talha’s death to be a case of medical negligence.
“They did not even check his weight or recommended any tests. Since he has been constantly vomiting, we carried some money along and thought we would need more, but unfortunately the medical staff at the hospital did not recommend even a single test,” his father said, adding that he had been constantly pleading to the hospital staff to send doctors to the ward, but to no avail.
“In the morning only, when Talha’s condition got worse and he started bleeding from his mouth, a doctor came and said he must be transferred immediately to another hospital for advanced treatment, but before he could be transferred, he died there on the hospital,” said his mother.
She added, “They have blood of my son on their hands and those guilty must be punished.”
Following the death, Scores of families reached the gate of the hospital to register their protest against the hospital authorities. The tehsildar along with police reached to the spot to pacify the angry protestors.
An angry protester said, “They always get away with it. They have the tricks to avoid taking the blame. Instead of facing consequences, they use medical jargon to escape accountability, despite having committed numerous wrongs in hospitals across Kashmir. They manage to evade responsibility every time.”
The Kashmiriyat spoke to Director Health Services Kashmir who assured action in this matter, if anyone was found guilty.
“We have launched a probe into this matter and action will be taken against every single individual who is found guilty,” Dr. Mushtaq Rather said.
Pertinently, this is not the first case of medical negligence, The Kashmiriyat has thoroughly documented the cases of medical negligence across Kashmir.