3-year-old dies in Mandla after ward boy administers injection

A three-year child died due to alleged medical negligence in MP’s Mandla district after a ward boy at primary health centre administered an injection to the child suffering from fever.

A three-year child died due to alleged medical negligence in MP’s Mandla district after a ward boy at primary health centre (PHC) administered an injection to the child suffering from fever.

Chief medical and health officer (CMHO) Dr KC Meshram told HT over phone that as there was no doctor or auxiliary nursing midwife (ANM) posted at the PHC Khilodi, the ward boy administered the injection of an antibiotic to the child.

He said that the incident happened on Sunday night and he sent a doctor in the area on Monday to investigate the matter.

“On Tuesday, the doctor will submit a report to me and accordingly action would be taken. At present I can’t say child died due to injection”, he said.

When asked about the child’ sex, he said he didn’t know. “I am gathering information about the incident”, he said.

However a local source in Mandla told HT that the incident happened at PHC Khilodi on Sunday where no doctor has been posted for over a decade.

“This is a usual practice here that patients are treated by ward boys at PHCs. When the family came to PHC, they asked the ward boy Ashok Ranjh to administer injection after which they would also take the child to a local exorcist. On their insistence, he administered the injection. Later in the night the child died”, said the local source.