The Haryana health department has ordered an inquiry after a government doctor posted at the Gurugram Civil Hospital at Sector 10-A referred a snake-bite victim to another hospital in Delhi amid allegations that the child had died during treatment before the referral, officials said on Monday.
Event Context
The incident took place between 10.15am and 10.30am on Sunday when a 12-year-old boy was brought to the hospital, Dr Pravesh Rao, the doctor at the centre of the inquiry, told HT. During treatment, Rao suspected a venomous snake bite and immediately administered antivenom and other medicines, he told HT. However, the child died within a couple of hours, officials said.
source
According to Dr Rao, the boy was bitten on his right foot while sleeping on the floor the previous night. “When he was brought to the hospital, he was unconscious and had oral secretion from his mouth, which we removed following all necessary protocols,” he said.
Dr Rao told HT he referred the child to Safdarjung Hospital, as his condition did not improve.
However, while preparations were underway to transfer the child, an emergency medical technician found that he had no pulse, a senior health department official said, requesting anonymity. “The father loaded him in an ambulance present there for rushing him to Delhi when the paramedical staff also checked the boy’s vitals and realised that he was dead and communicated about the situation to the father,” the official said.
The official cited above alleged that Dr Rao was apprised of the situation, following which an argument broke out between the victim’s family and the doctor, prompting the police to be called. Subsequently, the deputy civil surgeon reached the hospital in the presence of police personnel and the child was officially declared dead. The body was thereafter handed over to the family, who left the hospital premises, the official told HT.
The primary medical officer of Gurugram Civil Hospital, Dr Neena, told HT, “We have appointed a three-member committee comprising of an anaesthetist, a physician, and a deputy medical superintendent to investigate the matter and submit a report within three days.”
Dr Rao denied the allegations. “The child did not record any pulse on the pulse oximeter, which is a common phenomenon that happens in these cases. But when I checked using a stethoscope I found a beat,” he said.
The family is yet to file a police complaint. Health department officials have not clarified whether Dr Rao has been relieved of emergency duties pending the inquiry.
