Coronavirus: Indian child dies on motorbike in Jehanabad due to no ambulances
Earlier another Jehanabad couple walked with dead son due to no ambulances amidst lockdown
Just weeks after a heartbreaking video of a woman holding her dead son and walking along the streets of Jehanabad district in India due to the unavailability of an ambulance surfaced, another child has died for the same reason in the area.
A two-year-old boy in Bihar's Jehanabad district died on Saturday, while he was being transported to a hospital on a motorcycle in the absence of an ambulance, an India-based television news channel reported.
His family said that the boy was referred to the Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH) by the local state-run hospital but an ambulance was not provided.
This is the second such incident in the district in weeks.
The child’s father has been identified as Sunil Manjhi who along with his wife brought the child to the local Sadar Hospital for treatment on the same day of his death.
As the child's condition worsened, the doctors referred him to the Patna hospital. A family member has alleged that when they asked for an ambulance, the hospital administration asked them to call a phone number.
The family then decided to transport the boy to Patna, around 50 kilometres from Jehanabad, on a motorcycle. The boy died on the way near the district magistrate's office, NDTV reported.
Soon, senior district officials and the local police arrived at the spot and arranged an ambulance for the family.
The hospital, however, has reportedly alleged that Manjhi had refused to use an ambulance.
"The child had come to the hospital in serious condition and was under proper treatment. There was no problem in the treatment. When his condition worsened, we asked his family to take him to the PMCH. The hospital had offered them an ambulance but they refused. They said they would first go to their home. I heard the patient died on the way on a motorcycle," Dr Vijay Kumar Sinha, a civil surgeon in Jehanabad was quoted as saying by news channel NDTV.
Social media users were outraged at the incident and took to their online accounts to react.
User @SecularIndian_ tweeted: “This is the 2nd death of an infant due to unavailability of the ambulance. Bihar seriously lacks the health facility. How will they tackle the pandemic?”
Tweep @shoaib_9 wrote: “Basic medical facilities, all we need, we pay the taxes and in return we get this, and an ambulance is not something you cannot provide in rural areas, its the most basic medical resource.”
User @drreetusharma tweeted at Mangal Pandey, health minister of Bihar: “What is going on! If no ambulance at the capital city Patna then where else we can expect @mangalpandeybjp sir?”
Earlier this month, a couple, also belonging to Jehanabad district, was forced to walk with the body of their three-year-old son after the state-run hospital, where the child had died, could not provide an ambulance.
The parents had said they could not ensure timely treatment of their child because no ambulances were available amidst the nationwide coronavirus lockdown.
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