THRISSUR: The police probe in connection with the death of 10-year-old girl owing to alleged medical negligence is moving at a snail’s pace. Anatt R, daughter of Tharakan Raju and Anu of Chalakudy, died on November 26, 2023. On November 20, Anatt experienced abdominal pain and was taken to the Wellness Centre at Moonjeli, near their home. The doctor there referred her to Chalakudy Taluk Hospital after suspecting appendicitis.
Her parents took Anatt to Taluk Hospital casualty and she was shown to a pediatrician there. She also vomited while under examination at the casualty. However, after examination, the paediatrician prescribed her medicines and sent her back home. As the illness persisted even after two days of taking medicine, the family again consulted the paediatrician on November 22. The paediatrician referred the child to a surgeon. Since the surgeon at Taluk Hospital was on leave, the parents took her to Dhanya Hospital.
Confirming appendicitis, the surgeon there referred her to the Government Medical College Hospital at Mulankunnathukavu. “Anatt underwent scanning and other tests as prescribed by the doctors. But as the scans didn’t reveal appendicitis, the girl was given medicines, including suppositories. Following this, she started to have diarrhoea every two hours.
The illness became severe on November 26 and by the time we took her to hospital, she died,” said Raju, her father. Though the autopsy revealed that the girl died due to the rupture of an appendicular abscess, the police are yet to file a chargesheet against the hospitals concerned for the alleged medical negligence.
With the postmortem report and other documents, Raju has filed a complaint at Chalakudy police station alleging medical negligence on the part of the Government Medical College Hospital, Chalakudy Taluk Hospital and Dhanya Hospital, which failed to save Anatt from the sickness. “The whole system failed us. Despite having clear symptoms of appendicitis, none of the doctors, took a step to ensure the right treatment for my child,” he alleged.