Heartbreaking! Five-Year-Old Dies In Mother's Arms Outside Health Centre Waiting To Get Treatment In MP

In a heartbreaking incident, a five-year-old boy was reported to have died outside a government health facility in the Bargi region of Madhya Pradesh's Jabalpur district after allegedly having waited for hours to be attended by the medical team of the facility. The boy, Rishi Pandre, was in a critical stage when he was brought to the hospital and died in his wailing mother's arms, awaiting treatment.

The incident has come to light just a day after a man was forced to carry his pregnant wife on a hand-pushed cart to a health centre in Damoh district after having failed to get an ambulance on time. The patient was not able to get treated at the nearby health centres or civil hospitals, due to which they were asked to travel all the way to Damoh district hospital, where she finally got treated after an hour of waiting.

Similarly, this year many such reports had come about, including the report about an eight-year-old boy who sat with his toddler brother's dead body on his lap after being denied an ambulance by a hospital in Madhya Pradesh.

Such repeated incidents have brought healthcare facilities and the sector into the discussion. It triggered a row on the poor healthcare infrastructure, its accessibility, and the negligence shown by many professionals involved in the field. The recent incident was captured and posted on social media platforms, which led to a collective sense of despair toward the healthcare scenario of the country.

Travelled 47kms To Save A Life

The incident occurred at the Bargi government health facility in Jabalpur district, where the five-year-old Rishi Pandre took his last breath in his mother's arms after waiting to be treated for hours. A resident of the Tinheta Deori village, he was rushed to the health centre, which is about 47kms from his home, in such a critical stage.

5-year-old Rishi died at the hospital gate allegedly awaiting doctors aid yesterday.

Parents alleged that there was no doctor or nurse present at Bargi health centre in Jabalpur. @TheQuint @QuintHindi pic.twitter.com/QPizNjG89P

— Vishnukant (@vishnukant_7) September 1, 2022

As per reports by the New Indian Express, the relatives conveyed that not a single doctor or medical officer was available to attend to the ailing child. "We came here to save his life, but there was no one to treat him here at the health centre. We kept waiting for treatment for hours but failed to get any as there was no one present at the centre", alleged one such relative of the child who had brought him to the local centre.

The boy was earlier being treated by a local medical practitioner for burns on his leg and had to be taken to a centre after having developed severe fever and complications. Even though there are two more health centres about 15kms from the village, the parents had carried him to the centre that was over 40 kms far from their home due to unknown reasons.

Response From Higher Officials

The Jabalpur district Chief Medical and Health Officer (CMHO), Dr Sanjay Mishra, said that the entire incident would be probed, and a community and death audit will be conducted in the child's village to understand the scenario better. A team of doctors have been assigned to go to the deceased's village and conduct an in-depth investigation.

As for the doctor's absence at the hospital, it is reportedly said that the doctor had arrived late as his wife was fasting for a festival. The CMHO will be looking into the same and taking necessary actions against the professionals if medical negligence has been detected.

He added that he had received information from the Bargi health centre's on-duty doctor and medical officer that the staff nurses were present at the centre when the minor was brought to the hospital. The nurses claimed that the minor was brought dead to the hospital and had suffered fire-related injuries that caused septicemia.

Doctor Sanjay Mishra, joint director (Jabalpur region) denied the claims says the boy was brought dead. pic.twitter.com/oNEE3nOcZy

— Vishnukant (@vishnukant_7) September 1, 2022

Apart from the investigation on the health centre, the officials are also looking into the reasons for the family to have brought their son to a health care facility 47 km away from their village when there are closer facilities available.

Reacting to the incident, the state Congress president and ex-MP CM Kamal Nath tweeted, "This exposes the real state of governance and tall claims of development by the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government."

Also Read: MP: After Hospital Denies Ambulance, 8-Yr-Old Boy Sits With Toddler Brother's Dead Body In Lap; Chilling Visuals Viral