A 7-year-old girl died of snake bite in Palghar district on Tuesday due to lack of proper medical facility to treat her condition. This is the second such incident highlighting the need for qualified doctors and proper medical facilities in the district.
The family of the deceased, Chaya Shakharam Bhoi, has alleged that she died because she was not given timely medical assistance as doctors at Khodala Primary Health Centre (PHC) gave her only first aid, dismissing her case as injury while playing.
Chaya was playing in the courtyard at Borichiwadi in Khodala in Mohkada Taluka on the May 16 when she was bitten by a snake in the evening. When her father got to know, he carried his daughter to the nearest primary health care that was just 15 minutes away from their house.
Fatal mistake! Doctor advised the patient to go home
The doctor admitted the patient and conducted a Bleeding Time and Clotting Time test (BT CT) which helps to understand the amount of poison in the blood. With no symptoms for an hour, it was assumed that the injury might have occurred while she was playing and ruled out sanke bite as the cause. The doctor then advised the patient to go to home.
Before they could reach home, Chaya felt restless and lost control over her bladder on the motorcycle itself. Realising that her condition was deteriorating, her father took her back to Khodala PHC.
The medical team treating Chaya's condition referred her to Mokhada RH and promptly arranged for an ambulance. However, the girl died on the way to the hospital, which is about 20 km from Khodala.
Girl's father demands strict action against the doctor
Chaya's father has accused Dr Swapnil Wagh at Khodala PHC of negligence for the death of his daughter and has demanded action against him. FPJ spoke with Taluka Medical Officer (TMO) Dr Bhausaheb Chattar who said a detailed investigation will be conducted into the death of the 7 year old. He admitted that the BT CT test results were deceptive.
This is the second case of death in which a patient has died while being taken to a referred hospital. There are many complaints about the health care facilities and the negligent attitude of the doctors towards the patients in rural parts of Palghar district.
