Short on oxygen, Telangana ambulance abandons 3-yr-old in health centre, toddler dies

The boy was being taken to Hyderabad for advanced treatment. But as the oxygen levels declined, the driver took him to a primary health centre on the way.
Short on oxygen, Telangana ambulance abandons 3-yr-old in health centre, toddler dies
Short on oxygen, Telangana ambulance abandons 3-yr-old in health centre, toddler dies

A three year old boy died in an ambulance in Telangana’s Adilabad, allegedly after the ambulance ran out of oxygen. Shaik Faizan met with an accident in Islamnagar and was rushed to a private clinic on Sunday. There, his parents were told to take him to Hyderabad for advanced treatment – however, the boy died before he could even reach the capital.

The incident happened on Sunday night, but came to light on Wednesday.

According to reports, Farhan suffered critical injuries to his head, after an autorickshaw knocked him down at Islamnagar in Ichoda mandal, after which he was rushed to a private clinic. As the injuries were severe, the hospital recommended the boy to be sent to Hyderabad. However, the ambulance driver was negligent in checking the oxygen levels in the ambulance and left with the boy in haste, according to reports.

The Hindu reported that after noticing the oxygen being exhausted, the driver shifted the boy to Ichoda primary health centre and left. However, as the primary health centre doesn’t have adequate facilities to provide treatment to the boy, the PHC staff took the boy to Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences, where the staff declared the boy brought dead.  

Speaking to TNM, Adilabad District Medical Health Officer Ajay Kumar said that they have initiated an inquiry into the incident. “We will definitely take action against the hospital which led to this tragic incident.”

Ajay said, “I have summoned the officials in Islamnagar to identify the hospital. As soon as we ascertain that the boy’s death was due to the negligence of the hospital, we will take stringent action against them (hospital).”

In a similar incident in Andhra last month, a baby girl died hours after she was born. The baby was shifted from the Eluru government hospital to Vijayawada (55 kms away). However, the thumb rule of checking if the ambulance had adequate oxygen was ignored.

The driver took the baby 10 km away, and attempted to return to the hospital, after noticing the declining oxygen levels. However, the baby succumbed while on the way.

Related Stories

No stories found.
The News Minute
www.thenewsminute.com