Gurgaon: Three-month-old boy dies after ambulance runs out of fuel
The victim, Abel, was suffering from a blockage in food pipe caused by milk and was referred to Safdarjung hospital by the doctors at the civil hospital where he was taken earlier, on Thursday
A three-month-old boy died on Thursday at the civil hospital here as the ambulance, which was supposed to take the child to Safdarjung hospital in New Delhi, ran out of fuel. The child, who had a choked food pipe, died as precious minutes ticked by and it took 2 hours for him to be admitted to the hospital.
The victim, Abel, was suffering from a blockage in food pipe caused by milk and was referred to Safdarjung hospital by the doctors at the civil hospital where he was taken earlier, on Thursday.
“His condition was critical when he was admitted to the hospital. At 9:30 am, Abel was admitted and he died at 11:30 am,” said Dr Pawan Chauhan, in-charge of the emergency ward at the Gurgaon civil hospital.
As little Abel fell ill, his father John, a construction worker and a resident of Jharsa village, brought him to the civil hospital. The doctor who was attending to the boy admitted that the death was caused because he could not be given specialised treatment at Safdarjung hospital.
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According to sources, the boy’s parents pleaded with the civil hospital authorities for an ambulance and better treatment. They broke down and were inconsolable after getting word that their only son had died.
“The ECG report confirmed his death. We tried our best to revive him and save his life,” a doctor treating the boy said.
Officials at the ambulance unit refuted the charge of a delay in arrival saying that the boy had already died before he was put inside the vehicle.
“There was no issue with our service. We informed the doctor that the boy was brought dead into the ambulance,” said Suresh, a representative for ambulance service, civil hospital. They denied the non-availability of any other ambulance or fuel at the hospital.
Kanta Goel, the chief medical officer at the civil hospital, did not respond to calls and messages by the HT.
