The Kerala Human Rights Commission has ordered the Ernakulam District Medical Officer to constitute an expert medical panel to inquiry the death of a three-year-old child in Aluva who died after swallowing coins in August. Following the death of Prithviraj, his family had alleged that the three government hospitals, where the child was taken to after he swallowed coins, did not give him any treatment.
It is on the recommendation of the Ernakulam Rural Police Chief that the Commission Chairman, Justice Antony Dominic, directed the Ernakulam District Medical Officer to form an expert medical panel to find the exact reason of toddler’s death. The superintendents of three hospitals — Government Medical College hospital in Alappuzha, General Hospital in Ernakulam and District Hospital in Aluva — told the Human Rights Commission that there were no lapses on the part of hospitals in the incident.
On August 1, the child had accidentally swallowed two coins. Though he was initially rushed to the District Hospital in Aluva (Ernakulam district), the parents alleged that Prithviraj was not admitted there due to the COVID-19 situation.
Following this, the family took him to General Hospital in Ernakulam, but the child was not admitted there also as the hospital officials allegedly said there was no pediatric specialist. He was then taken to the Medical College Hospital in Alappuzha, where, although a doctor examined the three-year-old, the family was told there was no need to admit him. They were also recommended to feed him bananas as a remedy. However, the child, who returned home, did not wake up the next day and was found dead.
The post-mortem conducted on the child had revealed that he had swallowed a fifty paise and one rupee coin. However, a chemical analysis report had stated that he might have lost life due to pneumonia and not by swallowing coins. Irrespective of the cause, the family had been standing strong on their allegations that Prithviraj lost his life due to lapse of the hospitals.
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