12-Year-old Died on Father’s Shoulder, Carried from Hospital to Hospital in Kanpur

Mangalore Today News Network

Kanpur, Aug 30, 2016:  In heart-wrenching visuals from Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh, a 12-year-old boy hangs limply on the shoulders of his father, who is apparently rushing to a children’s health centre after being turned away by a government hospital.

 

Sunil Kumar has alleged that his son Ansh died on his shoulder after he carried him from hospital to hospital on Friday.

"He was in Class 6 and very intelligent. I took him to a local hospital within 9 minutes, they asked me to take him to the government hospital," Mr Kumar says. His son had high fever since Sunday night.

At the government-run Hallet hospital, the biggest in the city, the desperate father was allegedly told to take the boy to a children’s medical centre.

Allegedly denied a stretcher, Mr Kumar rushed out on foot, carrying his boy to the children’s hospital. There, he was told that the child was dead, that he would have survived even moments earlier.

Mr Kumar then carried his son’s body home.

The Hallet hospital claims that the child was dead when his father brought him.


"We admitted him. We found that there was no heart rate, no pulse, and the pupils are fixated and dilated. We could tell from his condition that he died two to three hours before being brought in," said Dr RC Gupta, the chief medical officer of the hospital.

The tragedy once again highlights the poor state of health care in large parts of the country.

The image of a man walking with his wife’s body on his shoulder after being denied hearse facilities in Odisha, is still seared in many minds.