5-yr-old’s death: Medical officer, ambulance driver suspended in K’taka

On Friday, former chief minister HD Kumaraswamy had demanded Sudhakar’s resignation soon after the incident was reported

The Karnataka government on Saturday suspended a medical officer and an ambulance driver at the Kodigenahalli primary health centre in Tumakuru district — about 130km from the state capital of Bengaluru — two days after the report of a 5-year-old boy’s death due to alleged medical negligence came to the fore.

Health minister K Sudhakar (ANI)

State health minister K Sudhakar informed about the decision in a series of tweets. “A notice has been issued to the Tumkur district health and family officials regarding the incident that took place at the primary health centre of Kodigenahalli in Madhugiri taluk on Friday, December 2, and the administrative doctor and the ambulance driver have been suspended from service,” the minister tweeted.

As per Sudhakar, the child was “brought dead” to the hospital. “Following the tragic death of a 5-yr-old boy, who was declared brought dead at Kodigenhalli PHC in Madhugiri taluk, the @Comm_dhfwka has issued notice to the Tumakuru Dist. Health & Family Welfare Dept along with the suspension of a Medical Officer & ambulance driver in the matter,” he tweeted further.

Earlier, the boy’s parents were reported to have complained that the doctors and ambulance driver were not available at the hospital when they brought their child for treatment after he fell into a sump near their home. In the midst of anger over the issue, the opposition had called for state health minister’s resignation.

On Friday, former chief minister HD Kumaraswamy had demanded Sudhakar’s resignation soon after the incident was reported. The child’s body was brought to Kumaraswami’s Pancharatna Yatra in Kodigenahalli village.

Kumaraswamy attacked the ruling BJP government and said hospitals in the state have “turned into death traps”. “There were two doctors in the hospital but they were not on duty. Although there was an ambulance, there was no driver. This is a cruel vision of the health system in rural areas. This is a mirror of the inefficiency of the health department,” he tweeted.

The JD(S) leader also demanded that chief minister Basavraj Bommai should sack the inefficient health minister. “The government is the direct cause of this death; the health minister is responsible. If he has a conscience, he should resign immediately. If the Chief Minister @BSBommai has any morals then the health Minister should be removed immediately,” read another tweet.