Sangareddy: Baby’s body to be exhumed after suspected dengue death

Parents of the deceased infant alleged that the doctors of Shishu Raksha Hospital in Sangareddy had enacted a scene from Chiranjeevi starrer 'Tagore' in which a dead man was treated so that the hospital could collect bills

Sangareddy: The death of a 45-day-old baby boy is turning into a major controversy after his parents lodged a complaint with the Sangareddy police against the management of a private hospital here. Following the complaint, the District Medical and Health officials are preparing to exhume the body on Thursday.

The parents alleged that the doctors of Shishu Raksha Hospital in Sangareddy had literally enacted a scene in real life from Chiranjeevi starrer ‘Tagore’ in which a dead man was treated so that the hospital could collect the bill. Chilpishetti Prabulingam (26), the father of the boy Dhashwik, said he had admitted his son to Shishu Raksha Hospital on September 5 as he fell ill. Stating that Dashwik was diagnosed with dengue after a few tests, the hospital treated him until September 8. The doctors told the parents that the baby’s platelet count had come down. Prabulingam said the hospital staff did not allow him to see the boy from September 7 evening stating that his condition was critical. On September 8, the doctors told him to rush the boy to Niloufer Hospital as his condition worsened. The hospital arranged its own ambulance, but the parents were not even allowed to touch the baby, Prabulingam said, adding that the technician in the ambulance held the baby until they reached the Niloufer Hospital. When they reached the hospital, the baby was not breathing, he said.

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Niloufer Hospital doctors tried to revive the child by performing Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR), but they did not succeed in their attempt. Prabulingam was shocked when the doctors at Niloufer told him that the child appeared to have died three to four hours ago, when they were still in the Sangareddy hospital. He said the hospital management had made him pay all the bills (Rs.1.30 lakh) before allowing him to take the child to Hyderabad. He had to pledge a gold chain to borrow Rs.2 lakh to pay the bills. In a state of depression, they buried the child without even getting the postmortem done the same day.

However, Deputy District Health and Medical Officer Dr Sunanda visited Prabulingam’s residence on September 10 to enquire into the incident. Dr Sunanda found that the doctors had treated the baby before confirming it as dengue. She said the doctors must conduct an ELISA test to confirm it as dengue. Hours later, DM&HO Dr Gayathri Devi inspected the hospital and seized the lab. Three days later on September 13, Prabulingam lodged a complaint against Shishu Raksha Hospital management accusing them of negligence. The police registered an FIR against the management. Meanwhile, the district health officials are preparing to exhume the body on Thursday to find out the cause of death by conducting a postmortem.

Interestingly, all this has happened in Health Minister Damodara Rajanarasimha’s district.