TENKASI: After a 9-year-old girl died of suspected snakebite on Saturday, her relatives laid siege to the primary health centre in Thenmalai near Sivagiri on Tuesday, alleging that the PHC nurse refused to treat the child and that no doctor was available at the facility.
Though the body of the child, Suba Karthika, was laid to rest, some health staff allegedly told media persons that they had treated her before referring her to the Sivagiri government hospital, prompting her relatives to protest.
Karthika's aunt M Jothimani, who took her to the PHC, told TNIE, "Karthika was playing outside her home on Saturday night when she complained of pain in her leg, which turned into swelling. When we took her to the PHC, there was no doctor. I laid her on a bed, but the duty nurse did not even touch her and asked me to take her to the Sivagiri government hospital without arranging an ambulance. While we were on our way to Sivagiri on a two-wheeler, the child died. The health staff misled media persons by claiming that they had given first aid at the PHC, and some newspapers reported their version. If anti-venom had been administered at the PHC, she could have been saved."
Elderly patients humiliated
The protesting residents demanded that senior health department officials verify the PHC's CCTV footage to establish the truth. "The nurse should have simply informed Jothimani that there was no anti-venom in stock, and advised her to take the child to government hospital. Instead, she behaved rudely and asked Jothimani to leave the premises immediately. Most of the time, doctors are not available at this PHC. The hospital staff often berate elderly women, asking them to return to the PHC after bathing. How can an elderly person with fever bathe?" asked the protesting women, including Karthika's mother, during talks with the women police personnel.
When contacted by TNIE, District Health Officer Dr Govinthan said that in additional PHCs like the one in Thenmalai, a doctor would not be available at night and would only provide on-call support. "The PHC staff allowed the child to be taken on a two-wheeler as the ambulance would take time to reach. The actual cause of the child’s death will be known after the postmortem report is received,” he added.