A 4-year-old girl hailing from a tribal family of Nilambur in Malappuram district of Kerala, died on Thursday after she was allegedly denied treatment for fever at the district hospital. The deceased, who has been identified as Raji Krishna, was a resident of Edakkode colony of Malappuram.
Speaking to TNM, Aruma PT, the Nilambur Municipal councillor, said that Raji was first brought to the district hospital on September 13 with fever. “A paediatrician had prescribed a medicine for her at that time. Later, she was again brought to the same hospital 10 days later on September 23, as the fever did not subside,” she said.
According to the councillor, the doctor had prescribed another medicine for the girl, which also did not make a difference. ‘On Thursday, the parents had brought her to the hospital yet again but the hospital officials allegedly refused to treat her citing the absence of the paediatrician who treated the girl before and requested them to come the following day,” said Aruma.
The Municipal Councillor states that on the way back home after being denied treatment, Raji was feeling weak and had also started vomiting, following which she died on the way.
As per a report by The New Indian Express (TNIE), on Wednesday, Raji’s parents had taken her to a private hospital after symptoms of fever and vomiting failed to subside. But the medical staff of the hospital reportedly asked them to take the 4-year-old girl to the same hospital where she was initially being treated.
Raji’s death, according to the report, triggered a protest from the people in her colony in front of the hospital, who demanded action against the doctors for not treating the girl. ‘We will file a police complaint against the doctors and will also notify the Nilambur MLA PV Anwar about the incident,” said Aruma.