Uttar Pradesh shame: 10-month-old baby dies in Bahraich as hospital staff harass his parents for bribes

Bahraich: In an appalling incident, a 10-month-old child died in a hospital in Uttar Pradesh’s Bahraich district after the authorities heckled his parents for bribes instead of giving a treatment to the baby.

The hospital has, however, denied any wrongdoing.

Sumita and Shiv Dutt, the residents of a village near Bahraich town, had brought their son, Krishna, to the children’s ward at the Bahraich’s biggest government hospital on Sunday. Krishna was suffering from high fever and weakness, reported NDTV.

The couple has alleged that they had to pay a bribe to a nurse to get the documentation for the child’s admission to the hospital. Later, they were asked for a bribe from the sweeper at the children’s ward to allocate a bed to the child.

 

According to Sumita, a compounder came to her on Tuesday morning and asked for a bribe to get a crucial injection for Krishna.

“I asked him to give me some time, promising to give him whatever amount he asked for,” NDTV quoted Sumita as saying.

The compounder did get the injection, but it was too late.

“Every staff member wants a bribe. The doctors don’t ask because they have fledging private practice. I think you should rather sell your land and go to a private hospital,” said Shiv Dutt, who works as a labourer.

 

The hospital administration has assured the distraught parents of an internal inquiry and has formed a committee to probe the matter.

“We have removed the sweeper and transferred the nurse and an inquiry is underway,” said OP Pandey, doctor in-charge at the Bahraich district hospital.