UP: Parents grieve with dead child, accuse doctors of apathy

KANPUR: In a shocking incident, a man was seen clinging to the body of his one-year-old son in his arms, his wife sitting at a distance and both weeping bitterly at the district hospital of Kannauj on Monday.
Later, while talking to reporters, Prem Chand, the father of the dead boy, Anuj, accused doctors at the hospital of being indifferent to his son's medical condition and even refusing to touch him, since he along with his wife, Asha Devi, visited the district hospital with fever and swollen neck on Sunday evening.
"None of the doctors touched him. They kept us waiting for 45 minutes. Later, they asked us to take the child to Kanpur. We are poor people and don't have money to travel to Kanpur. Finally, when people and media persons started shooting and querying us about the whole issue, my child was admitted, but he died," said Prem Chand in a choked voice.
He and his wife Asha Devi had taken their one-year-old son with fever and swollen neck from their Mishripur village to the district hospital on Sunday evening.
Chief Medical superintendent Dr UC Chaturvedi of the district hospital however has denied any negligence. "The boy was given treatment at Emergency. As the boy was serious, child specialist Dr Prem Yadav examined him and tried his best, but within a span of 30 minutes he died," he said.
"The couple brought the child to the hospital at 4.15 pm on Sunday. The child was admitted to the emergency ward. Prima facie it does not seem there was any negligence on the part of doctors, as the child specialist was roped in and he along with other doctors tried their best, but unfortunately the child died," said district magistrate Rakesh Kumar Mishra while talking to media persons.
"Premchand admitted his son Anuj to the district hospital. Child was attended by a specialist doctor, but the child, who was quite serious, died after half an hour of treatment. Allegations levelled by the couple are baseless," said chief medical officer Dr Krishna Swaroop.