Shivani Khanal--daughter of Anita Khanal, 21, of Ramapur, Rupandehi -- died late Monday night. The relatives have encircled the hospital since morning and have refused to take the body demanding action against the doctors.[break]
Grandfather of the deceased Tulsi Pandey claimed the baby died after the hospital refused to admit her late at night. “There was no one other than the guard when we came to hospital. We looked for a doctor but there were none. They said the doctor had gone to sleep and asked us to come in the morning,” Pandey said.
The baby breathed her last in the arms of her mother Anita while they were waiting for the doctor in emergency ward. The mother passed out immediately unable to come to terms with the death of her first child. The relatives claim that the health officials of the hospital were sleeping while on duty in the night.
The child was first brought to the hospital Monday afternoon with complaints of fever and diarrhea. “They sent us back with some medicines saying it was normal,” Pandey said. "When she didn´t get better we brought her to the hospital again but she didn´t get treatment,” he rued. He complained the hospital didn´t admit her even in the afternoon calling it a normal case despite their plea and didn´t refer her elsewhere either.
The hospital has expressed sorrow over the incident. “We will listen to the victims´ demands. It´s a sad incident and we are investigating into it,” head of the pediatric department at the hospital Dr Sunil Das said.
The family has been demanding action against the guilty, job for a member of the family and administrative reforms in the hospital that is one of the biggest in western Nepal.
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