Relatives create ruckus in hospital after boy's death

Kin allege medical negligence; docs say 15-yr-old suffered heart attack

There was commotion at a private hospital on Coles Road under Pulikeshinagar police limits on Saturday night, following the death of a 15-year-old boy. Alleging medical negligence, relatives and friends of the victim thronged the hospital and created a ruckus. The police arrived at the spot and pacified them. The hospital authorities, however, claimed that the boy died of a massive cardiac arrest.

The victim is Chandrashekar, a ninth standard student at a private school and a resident of KEB quarters. His father Shivalingaiah, a lineman with Bescom, alleged that his son died due to negligence of the doctors at Santosh Hospital.

The father, in his complaint, stated that his son came home after playing at around 5.30 pm on Saturday and started complaining of stomachache. They immediately rushed him to a nearby clinic, where he was given some medicine.

After they took him home, his condition worsened. They rushed him to Santosh Hospital around 8 pm. The doctors admitted the boy and started treating him.
Till 11 pm, the doctors did not inform the parents about the boy’s condition. Around 11.30 pm, they informed his parents that the boy was dead, police said.

The parents alleged that it was due to the hospital’s negligence that their son died.
They approached the Pulikeshinagar police station and lodged a medical negligence case against the doctors.

The police sent a few samples from the boy to the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) and shifted the body for post- mortem, police said.

A senior police officer said, “Based on the FSL and post- mortem reports, further action will be taken. For now, a case has been registered and investigation is on.”
Dr Shariff, Chief Medical Officer, Santosh Hospital, told Deccan Herald on Sunday, “The boy was brought into the casualty ward at 8.30 pm and was complaining of abdominal and leg pain. The complaints were vague, he was alert and very much in his senses. The doctors on duty started examining him and he was shifted to the paediatric ward. Around 10.30 pm, he again started complaining of severe pain and had difficulty in breathing. We immediately shifted him to the intensive care unit (ICU) and he was put on a ventilator. But he suffered a massive cardiac arrest and this was informed to the parents, who started creating a ruckus.”

Shariff said that it is also possible that the boy might have died of a congenital problem, which the parents are hesitant to talk about. Only the post-  mortem report can throw light on the exact cause of death, he said.