A one-and-a-half-year-old girl died during treatment on Sunday night at the Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru Government Medical College and Hospital in Chamba district, Himachal Pradesh, and her family's anger over the hospital's handling of the case spilled into a chaotic protest inside the premises.
Who the child was and what happened
The girl has been identified as Kritika, the one-and-a-half-year-old daughter of Kuldeep Singh, a resident of Narwad village under Gram Panchayat Seikothi in Churah sub-division. Her father alleges that after they reached the hospital, she was not given timely treatment and the family was instead sent back and forth for tests and an X-ray. He claims that after she was given an injection and steam treatment, she suddenly lost consciousness and died shortly after.
Father says no doctor showed up for an hour
According to Kuldeep Singh, no doctor was posted in the emergency ward at the time, and no doctor came to examine the child for nearly an hour. He said a nurse kept repeating that a doctor was arriving in five minutes. By the time a woman doctor finally arrived, he said, it was already too late. He alleged that the hospital's doctors do not care about patients despite drawing salaries of up to two lakh rupees.
Grieving parents demand the hospital be shut
The mother wept inconsolably, repeatedly asking where she would ever get her daughter back from. In her grief and anger, she said the hospital should simply be locked up, arguing that if patients stopped coming here at all, at least their lives would be saved. Outside the hospital, family members continued to weep and recount their ordeal for a long time, while raising slogans against the doctors and the hospital administration.
Hospital says a probe committee will be formed
As the incident drew attention, the medical college's MS, Dr. Pradeep, said he was treating the matter seriously and would set up a special inquiry committee to conduct a fair investigation. He assured that action would be taken against those found responsible, in accordance with rules, once the inquiry report is submitted.
