Jawan's son sent to 5 hospitals across 4 districts, dies

BAGESHWAR: A one-year-old boy, son of an Army jawan posted along the LoC in J&K, died after being referred to five hospitals across four districts over six days in Uttarakhand. Fifteen days after the "deeply distressing and unfortunate" report reached chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, he called for a high-level probe and promised the toughest possible action after fixing accountability for medical negligence in treating the child.Dhami wrote on X: "The news of a young child's death due to medical negligence in Bageshwar is deeply distressing... Based on the information received so far, it appears at first glance that there was negligence by nagarkoti officials and staff. I have directed the Kumaon commissioner to conduct an immediate investigation. If negligence or indifference is found at any level, the strictest action will be taken."The ordeal began on July 10 when the boy developed vomiting and dehydration in Chidanga, a village near Gwaldam in Chamoli district.

His mother, Amisha, and grandmother Durga Devi, carried him across 3km of forest to the local community health centre, where he was admitted around 1:50pm. With no paediatric care available there, doctors referred the family to Baijnath. There too, Shivansh received only basic first aid and an ultrasound.

Staff informed the family that the CHC lacked a paediatrician, and advised them to proceed to Bageshwar district hospital, nearly 20km away.

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peaking to TOI, the father Dinesh Joshi, a Lance Naik in the Bengal Engineering Unit, said, "At Bageshwar, doctors barely examined him and told them to go to Almora. I asked to speak with them, but they misbehaved. I was on call, helpless, listening to my wife and mother waiting in desperation. The ambulance that was supposed to arrive in 30 minutes came only after 9:30pm - after I called the DM, Ashish Kumar Bhatgain."Bageshwar chief medical officer Dr Kumar Aditya Tiwari later confirmed the child was showing signs of an infarct - localised brain damage - along with continuous seizures and high fever. "We had recommended a contrast MRI, but it wasn't available here. The hospital also lacked a paediatric ICU. The child needed to be moved to a higher centre." Tiwari also confirmed in an internal probe that delays caused by the 108 ambulance service held up the patient for nearly three hours.

"The responsible staff members have been removed. A detailed report is being submitted to higher authorities."After Almora Medical College Hospital - where paediatric ICU services exist but reportedly could not stabilise the child - Shivansh was moved again, this time to Haldwani. He was admitted to Sushila Tiwari Hospital, where he died in the ICU on July 15, six days after first showing symptoms. Dinesh has filed a complaint via chief minister's helpline. "I've lost my son," he said. "If there is no accountability now, I'll go to every possible door for justice."(With inputs from Kautilya Singh in Dehradun)