1-year-old dies after alleged delay in treatment at Mussoorie Government Hospital
Mussoorie- In a shocking incident, a one-year-old child died after allegedly being denied timely treatment at a government hospital in Mussoorie on Monday, triggering allegations of delay in emergency care.
The incident occurred when the deceased's mother, Mamata, arrived at the hospital at around 5 am but found the emergency department door closed. She began repeatedly knocking and trying to force the door open; she was informed that no doctor was available.
“I pleaded with the doctors to stabilise my child so I could take him to Dehradun, but they did not help,” she claimed.
However, unable to get any medical help, she took her child to Dehradun in that condition, but unfortunately, her son died on the way.
“This hospital was meant to help the poor, but it failed us,” Mamta alleged, despite recent assurances by authorities about its services.
Following the incident, Anuj Gupta, the former Chairman of the Mussoorie Municipal Council, alleged that despite significant expenditure on its upgradation, the hospital has effectively turned into a referral centre; instead of treating patients, it frequently refers them to Dehradun.
Dismissing the allegations, speaking to TOI, the hospital's Chief Medical Superintendent (CMS) said that she had viewed the CCTV footage, in which the woman is seen consulting the doctor on emergency duty at 5:43 AM. During the consultation, she was given some medicines and asked to wait until 8 AM for the paediatrician.
He further stated that the child had initially been treated by a private doctor in Mussoorie for several days. The prescription issued by the doctor was shown to the attending doctor whom the woman was consulting. After reviewing the prescription, the doctor changed some of the medicines and administered ORS to the child, but the woman left the hospital without waiting.
