The 12-year-old differently-abled girl, who died 5 days after admission, was allegedly denied admission to 2 hospitals before a judge intervened.
Published Nov 05, 2023 | 12:03 AM ⚊ Updated Nov 05, 2023 | 12:03 AM
Cheluvamba Hospital in Mysuru. (Wikimedia Commons)
In a heart-wrenching incident of apparent medical negligence, Sonia, a 12-year-old differently-abled girl from Bommadu village in Madikeri district, passed away after allegedly being denied timely medical care at hospitals in Mysuru.
Sonia, who suffered from a severe breathing ailment, was allegedly denied admission in two hospitals, one of which made her family wait for nearly six hours in the ambulance, despite her critical condition. She was admitted only after Shilpa AG, 1st Additional Senior Civil Judge and Chief Judicial Magistrate in Mysuru, intervened.
However, the girl breathed her last on Tuesday, 31 October.
An FIR against the authorities has been registered at the Devaraja Police Station in Mysuru and also with the Lokayukta. Though the incident occurred last Thursday and the FIR was filed the next day, 27 October, it came to public knowledge only on Saturday, 4 November.
This incident exposes the apathy of government district hospitals in the state.
According to the complaint lodged by Judge Shilpa, who intervened and ensured that the girl was finally admitted to Cheluvamba Hospital, Sonia, daughter of Sangeeta and Afzal, was from the tribal region of Bommadu in Madikeri, Karnataka.
On 26 October, she had experienced severe breathing difficulties and was taken to Gonikoppal Taluk Hospital, which is the closest medical centre to Sonia’s village.
However, Sonia’s parents were asked to take her to Madikeri as there was no paediatric doctor available at the local hospital. Her parents then managed to take her to Madikeri District hospital, where doctors allegedly asked them to take her to Jayadeva Hospital in Mysuru, reasoning that she had a heart condition and needed treatment there.
Sangeeta and Afzal, who work as daily-wage labourers, pooled in money, with great difficulty, and managed to hire a private ambulance to take them to Mysuru.
The worried couple, who didn’t know anyone in Mysuru, contacted Shilpa AG, who is a magistrate in the city, and hailed from Sangeeta’s village.
The magistrate asked the couple to bring Sonia to Mysuru and take her to Jayadeva Hospital. On reaching the hospital, initial treatment was given. She was then referred to Cheluvamba Hospital, which is a maternity and children’s hospital, as she did not have any heart-related issues.
However, when Sonia was taken to Cheluvamba, the duty doctor there allegedly refused to admit the child, with the reason that there were no beds available.
The worried parents then rushed Sonia to JSS Hospital in Mysuru, where doctors allegedly told them that the treatment would cost ₹25,000 to 30,000 per day for the next 10 days.
With no money in hand, the couple had no choice but to take the child to the government-run KR Hospital.
Meanwhile, Sangeetha informed Judge Shilpa about what was happening as she thought it might help to get a reference from the magistrate, in the hope of easing the process of admission and treatment.
Angered by the treatment meted out to the family, Judge Shilpa personally called the District Health Officer and got the contact number of Resident Medical Officer (RMO) Dr Nayaz Pasha at KH Hospital and informed him about the patient.
Despite all efforts, when the patient reached KR Hospital, none of the doctors reportedly attended to her.
According to the FIR, Dr Chaitra, who was the duty doctor that day at KR Hospital, was allegedly irked that they woke her up from her sleep.
Only after Shilpa revealed that she is a magistrate, the duty doctor and PG student Dr Syed reportedly discussed the case, however, still refusing to admit Sonia. The duo allegedly claimed that paediatric patients will only be treated at Cheluvamba Hospital.
At that point, the RMO who Justice Shilpa contacted came to the hospital and admitted Sonia. The very next day, Judge Shilpa informed senior authorities about the incident and ensured that Sonia was admitted to Cheluvamba Hospital.
Unfortunately, Sonia died five days after admission to Cheluvamba Hospital.
Following this, Judge Shilpa lodged a formal complaint on 27 October, resulting in an FIR being registered against the duty doctors of both Cheluvamba and KR Hospitals under Sections 337 (causing hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others) and 338 (causing grievous hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others) of the Indian Penal Code.
A Lokayukta complaint also followed, seeking to hold the responsible parties accountable. The Mysuru police have registered a case and are investigating.
