Himalaya Harbinger, Uttarakhand Bureau
Five days after a two-year-old died during treatment, the deceased’s family from Lehragaga has alleged medical negligence by Dr Sanjay Bansal, the senior medical officer at Lehragaga civil hospital.
The family claims that the SMO, who also runs a private clinic at his residence in Sunam, failed to attend to the child in time on July 24, leading to his death.
Deceased’s father, Om Prakash, said that initially they took their son, who was running a high fever, to the civil hospital at Lehragaga.
“Someone at the hospital guided us to SMO’s private clinic. We took our child to Dr Bansal’s private clinic, which is at his residence in Sunam, on July 23. We were charged a ₹200 fee for treatment. However, the child’s condition worsened the next morning. Upon returning to the doctor’s residence on July 24, Dr Bansal refused to examine the child despite our repeated pleas, leading to the child’s death,” he said.
The family said they have filed a complaint at the Sunam police station and have yet to receive a response. While Sunam deputy superintendent of police (DSP) Harvinder Singh Khaira said he was unaware of the matter, station house officer (SHO) inspector Prateek Jindal said that the matter is not related to police, and it is up to the medical board to take a call in such incidents.
“The family has been asked to take their complaint to the civil surgeon in Sangrur. We are following up on the complaint,” he said.
When contacted, Dr Bansal denied allegations. “I don’t remember treating the child on July 23. I don’t charge any consultation fee and only attend to patients on humanitarian grounds,” Bansal said. Sangrur civil surgeon Sanjay Kamra could not be reached for comments despite repeated attempts.
