In a re-run of the Dana Majhi incident, the uncle of a seven-month-old girl, who died during treatment at the district hospital in Kaushambi (Uttar Pradesh), had to carry her body on a bicycle as his plea for an ambulance fell on deaf ears. The incident, which took place on Monday, prompted the authorities to lodge an FIR against the doctor on duty and the driver of the ambulance on Tuesday. The hospital too has launched an inquiry in this regard.
For the Poor, There Is No Dignity Even In Death
Seven-month-old Poonam, the daughter of Anant Kumar, a daily wage labourer of Malak Saddi village in Majhanpur tehsil in the district, was admitted to the hospital three days ago after she started vomiting, accompanied by diarrhoea.
After getting her admitted to the hospital, Kumar left for Allahabad to arrange money for her treatment asking his brother-in-law, Brijmohan, to look after her.
"My niece died during treatment on Monday. Despite repeated pleas to the hospital, no vehicle was made available to carry her body. I had to borrow a bicycle and carry it for almost 10 km to reach the village," Brijmohan told reporters.
The Pathetic Excuses
When contacted, S K Upadhyay, Chief Medical Officer (CMO), Kaushambi, said, "We have taken cognisance of the incident. An inquiry has also been initiated. Once the report of the inquiry is available, we will take stringent action against the guilty."
Hospital sources claimed that an ambulance could not be arranged as there was no budget for fuel.
District Magistrate, Kaushambi, Manish Kumar, told PTI that an FIR was lodged against the doctor on duty, Vivek Kumar, and the ambulance driver, Ashish Kumar Pandey, who allegedly refused to carry the body.
On May 20, the pregnant wife of a man from Chak Ahmadipur village in the district was declared "brought dead" by the hospital authorities.
As he was denied an ambulance, the man carried the body of his wife on a stretcher for some distance.
Subsequently, sensing trouble, the doctors at the hospital arranged for an ambulance to transport the body.
The Infamous Dana Majhi Incident
In a similar incident, Dana Majhi, a tribal, had to carry his wife's body on his shoulder for over 10 km, with his daughter walking alongside, in Odisha's Kalahandi district in August, last year as the hospital authorities failed to arrange for a hearse.
The incident had triggered a controversy and led to widespread criticism after it was reported in the media.
Yet Another Similarly Shameful Case of Apathy
Last month, a labourer had to carry the body of his 15- year-old son on his shoulders after allegedly being turned away by the doctors at a government-run hospital in Etawah.
Analysing India’s Woes
The Economic & Political Weekly says such incidents underscore the dismal state of healthcare in India. It says:
In November 2011, the High Level Expert Group Report on Universal Health Coverage had stressed the need for additional investment in transport and referral connectivity as lives are lost each day because the sick cannot access healthcare in time.
The root cause of this failure, of course, lies in inadequate public expenditure on health. The government’s National Health Accounts (NHA) estimates published in August in year 2016 show that only 4.5% of the current health expenses (CHE) in 2013–14 were spent on patient transportation.
Shamefully, India’s public health expenditure was 1.15% of its gross domestic product (GDP) in 2013–14, with total health expenditure at 4.02% as per NHA estimates. The CHE made up 93% of total health expenditure, while only 7% was invested in capital expenditure.
The draft National Health Policy (NHP) 2015 emphasised that unless a country spends 5%–6% of its GDP on health, with a major part of it from government expenses, basic healthcare will not be met.
No Funds For Training Staff
Meagre funds for healthcare have resulted, as the draft NHA has noted, in a failure to expand the workforce, to train and retain them, and this has affected service delivery, regulatory and management functions, as well as research and development. With reduced training and secure employment opportunities in healthcare services, it is difficult to expect the minimal standards of human sensitivity and empathy, notes the Economic & Political Weekly.
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