KOCHI: In the light of the circumstances leading to the death of a three-year-old boy who swallowed a coin, the Justice V R Krishna Iyer Movement has written to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan seeking steps to appoint more specialist doctors at the Kalamassery Government Medical College Hospital (MCH) and other government hospitals.
Dr Sanil Kumar, a member of the organisation, said it was unfortunate the child could not be saved despite visiting three government hospitals. “Had there been a specialist surgeon, the child might have received treatment at a hospital in Ernakulam and he could have been saved,” he said.
In the letter, Dr Sanil said, “That a child had to be taken from Aluva to Alappuzha shows the sad state of super specialty medical facilities in Ernakulam. The Kalamassery MCH lacks doctors in specialty departments. In this case, no paediatric surgeon or surgical gastroenterologist was available here and the child was referred to Alappuzha MCH. Ernakulam is among the districts with the maximum number of road accidents but none of the government hospitals here have a neurosurgeon.”