We saw this kind of apathy take an innocent life in Kerala first and then the lives of many babies in Uttar Pradesh. But now negligence in a hospital at Ambur in Vellore, has allegedly led to the death of two people. Relatives and members of the public staged a protest outside the hospital to express their angst.
According to reports, a 13-year-old girl from the locality and a lorry driver from Chennai were the two victims of negligence. The girl had been brought by her parents as she was running a temperature. The lorry driver meanwhile, met with an accident and was rushed to the hospital for medical aid.
There were allegedly no doctors present in the hospital when these arrived. As it was a Sunday, only one doctor was reportedly meant to be on duty, but he was missing. Eyewitnesses told Puthiya Thalaimurai TV that the lorry driver could have been saved, if he had received medical attention on time. The girl meanwhile reportedly collapsed after having a drink of water and died.
Reports suggest that the hospital is severely understaffed and lacks several basic amenities. It allegedly does not have a children's ward or offer medical services for pregnant women.
This incident comes to fore a day after 23 infants died at a government hospital in Gorakhpur (Uttar Pradesh) after oxygen supply was disrupted for two hours. As per reports, oxygen supply was restored to the hospital on Saturday night after the government partially paid its dues to a Lucknow-based company. The company had issued an ultimatum to hospital authorities on August 8, warning that supplies may be hampered if dues were not cleared.