Another boy has died of dengue with his family claiming negligence by hospitals in the city where only last week seven-year-old Avinash had succumbed to the disease after allegedly being turned away by five hospitals which had driven his parents to suicide.
Arvind Kejriwal, the chief minister of Delhi, showed up at hospitals in the city for surprise checks amid anger over the death of two young boys from dengue after they were denied treatment by several hospitals.
Aman, 6, from Srinivaspuri area of South Delhi has become the tenth victim of dengue this season.
According to Aman’s father Manoj Sharma, he was diagnosed with dengue at a private hospital in Srinivaspuri and was then taken to Safdarjung Hospital on September 9.
“The doctors at Safdarjung hospital said that our boy does not have dengue and thus there is no need of getting him admitted. Also, at that point of time, our son’s condition was a bit stable so we brought him home.
“But on Friday his condition worsened and we took him to Jeewan hospital in Maharani Bagh where he was admitted till Saturday night.
“At 2.30 AM the doctors there told us that his condition was critical and they do not have the equipment to handle such cases and thus we should shift him to a bigger hospital,” said Aman’s father.
Mr. Kejriwal said: “It is heartbreaking. We have become blind in the race to make more and more profit. We shouldn’t forget our humanity. Nothing would have been lost if the hospital had treated the child. Would it have affected their profit margin so much?”
The government, he said, is exploring a law that will enable the temporary takeover of private hospitals if they refuse patients during emergencies.
In pictures of his hospital checks, he was seen touring wards, meeting patients and speaking to doctors.
The Delhi government has ordered an investigation into Avinash’s death and has promised firm action against the hospitals accused of negligence.
“I want to take action, but am worried that if their license is cancelled, there will be a worse shortage of beds,” Mr. Kejriwal said.
Amid reports of more hospitals denying admission to dengue patients coming in, the death toll due to the disease in the national capital has gone up to 11 on Tuesday. In the latest incident, a 29-year-old woman succumbed to the disease shortly after getting admitted to Lok Nayak hospital in Delhi.
According to authorities at Lok Nayak hospital, the woman, a resident of north-west Delhi, had come to the hospital on Monday evening and succumbed within a few minutes even as she was being attended to.
