CHENNAI: The ordeal of a couple whose three-year-old son was ‘provided treatment’ for 40 minutes after his death at Injambakkam Urban Community Health Centre (UCHC) has raised serious concerns over the lack of doctors and emergency medical facilities at the centre.
The couple had rushed the child to the Injambakkam UCHC, which is maintained by the GCC, after the boy accidentally fell into a swimming pool on the premises of a bungalow on September 2.
The bereaved family stayed at the servant quarters of the bungalow, where Sugumar, the father, worked as a driver. The hospital staff claimed the boy was brought dead, but cited the distraught mother’s pleas to save him as the reason for providing ‘treatment’ and not informing them of death.
The boy was later declared dead at a private hospital. Sugumar said, “After over 40 minutes of hands-only CPR treatment and inserting some tubes, the UCHC staff asked us to hire a private ambulance to shift him to the private hospital in Shollinganallur.
Instead of ‘treating’ him for nearly an hour, the hospital should have informed us earlier that they lacked proper equipment for emergency treatment. When we asked for 108 ambulance stationed at the centre for shifting my son, the centre staff claimed it was under repair.”
Noting that 108 ambulances are not used to transport dead bodies, official sources said that this could be the reason why staff said the ambulance was under repair. Injambakkam Aarasu Maruthuvamanai Paadhukappu Kuzhu (IAMPK) members said the doctor who treated the child was not the UCHC on-duty doctor, but one attached to the free dialysis facility. The hospital has refuted this claim.
The incident has raised some serious concerns regarding the lack of emergency facilities and doctors at the centre. “Isn’t it the duty of the doctors to tell the truth? In this instance, it seems like the staff was trying to shirk the responsibility and cover up the fact that the child died at the hospital that lacked adequate staff and proper equipment,” said P Narayanan, a coordinator of IAMPK.
This 100-bed UCHC is the only GH serving the Injambakkam area, with the Royapettah GH nearly 20 km away. However, the facility is ill-equipped to handle critical cases. The hospital has posts for three specialists and two medical officers, but currently, only one specialist and one medical officer are available, said a civic body official.
Despite being a family welfare facility, the UCHC refers critical pregnancy cases to Royapettah GH. M Renuka, Corporation Health Committee member, said shortage of doctors and nurses in UPHCs and UCHCs is a citywide issue. Out of the 169 required doctors, only 67 are currently available, and in the case of nurses, just half of the required number of 1,000 is met.
Dr G Shanthakumari, Chairman of the Corporation’s Standing Committee on Health, noted that 28 contract doctors were hired last week, but the filling of permanent posts remains pending. Corporation Commissioner J Kumaragurubaran assured that an inquiry into the incident will be conducted and said that measures are being taken to address staff shortage by posting contractual doctors.