The Madhya Pradesh Human Rights Commission on Saturday has sought a report within three weeks from the Guna Collector and the Chief Medical and Health Officer over the death of a man who was reportedly unattended at the district hospital for 14 hours as his family didn’t have money to pay for registration.
Commission Chairman Narendra Kumar Jain took cognisance of media reports of the incident and issued notices to the two officials.
According to the Commission, Aarti Rajak, 20, a resident of adjacent Ashoknagar district, brought her husband Sunil Dhakad, 22, to the Guna district hospital around 6 p.m. on Wednesday. When she approached the counter, she was told she needed to pay for registration, Since she did not have any money, she waited with her seriously ill husband on the hospital premises.
“The next morning, when she tried again to get a registration slip to admit her husband, she was told another counter outside would open soon for the slip. As she waited, her husband died at 8 a.m,” the Commission notes.
Stating that the hospital always had a security guard, and a police post, apart from two ward boys deployed at the main gate during the night, doctors on emergency duty and two officials at the slip counter too, the Commission said: “All of them ignored the critical condition of the woman and her husband.”
Speaking to reporters, Ms. Rajak said, “No one came to our help from the hospital. When the slip wasn’t made, how could a doctor see him? Even after his death, no one came for an hour at least.”
Following media coverage of the official apathy, Guna Collector Kumar Purushottam on Friday initiated a magisterial inquiry under by Deputy Collector Sonam Jain, and asked that the report be submitted within a week. “The inquiry will look into why the incident took place, who are responsible and what could be the steps taken to avoid such incidents in the future. Strict action will be taken against those responsible,” said Mr. Purushottam.
If a person arrived at the district hospital, said Mr. Purushottam, it was the responsibility of its administration and doctors to ensure treatment. “They should show sensitivity in such cases.”
Mr. Purushottam also sought a report from the hospital’s Civil Surgeon S.K. Shrivastava. “We have checked the video footage of the hospital which reveals the lady arrived at the hospital at 4 a.m., and to seek treatment she didn’t go inside,” claimed the Collector.
The Collector said according to government orders, a patient slip is generated free at district hospitals. “During interaction with officials at the slip counter, Ms. Rajak claimed no one took money from her, neither was there a discussion about it. She also accepted in her statement that the patient was not taken inside the hospital for treatment. He was kept outside,” the district administration said.
Raising concerns over the incident, former Chief Minister Kamal Nath said on Twitter, “You continue buying/horse trading MLAs, openly bid for them, whereas on the other hand at the Guna district hospital a woman from Ashoknagar with her two and a half child appealed for the treatment of her husband the entire day.”
“As she didn’t have ₹5, the patient's slip was not issued and he wasn’t treated and in front of her eyes the husband took his last breath. Are these the State’s health services, the State’s condition under the Shivraj government?” asked Mr. Nath.
