Parents cling to the body of their one-year-old boy and weep inconsolably inside a government hospital complex in heart-wrenching visuals from Kannauj in Uttar Pradesh.
The parents had rushed to the hospital with the baby who was suffering from fever and a swollen neck. However, the couple alleged that the doctors refused to touch their son, and instead asked them to take him to Kanpur - around 90 kms away - to bigger and more specialised government hospitals.
The doctors at the hospital and the Kannauj distict administration on the other hand, have denied this on record, NDTV reported.
Videos shot by onlookers at the hospital around 4:45 pm on Sunday, 28 June, show Premchand and Asha Devi holding the dead body of the baby Anuj in the hospital complex.
In the 12-second video, Premchand is seen on the ground clinging to the baby while his wife sits just a few feet away from him. Both of them can be seen weeping.
‘No Doctor Was Willing to Touch My Child’
There was another clip, reportedly shot a while earlier, of the child on a bed in the emergency ward of the hospital being examined by a doctor.
“That examination only happened once some people started filming us on their phones. Before that, no doctor was willing to touch my child. We were there for 30 minutes. They kept on saying ‘take him to Kanpur’. I am a poor person. I have no money. What could I have done,” Prem Chand, back in his village, told NDTV.
Breaking down while talking, Devi told the channel, "His neck was swollen. They kept us waiting for 30-40 minutes. Then he was admitted but he died."
Meanwhile, Samajwadi Party tweeted, “There is no humanity left in the health services of UP. A child suffering from high fever lost his life by not getting treatment. Extremely sad! Hospital accused of not admitting the child despite serious condition. Condolences to the bereaved family! Stringent investigation against the culprits.”
Doctors Deny Negligence
Doctors and officials of the district have denied any negligence. "The boy was brought to the hospital at 4:15 pm yesterday evening. The child was admitted to the emergency ward. The case was very serious. A child specialist was called to the emergency ward but in a space of 30 minutes he died. The doctors say they tried their best but the child could not be saved. Prima facie it does not seem there was any negligence,” Rajesh Kumar Mishra, a top government official in Kannauj, told the media.
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