Imphal: In yet another incident for malpractice in medical treatment, a teenage boy from Thoubal district who was in need for an emergency medical care for drug overdose lost his life after the hospital allegedly denied him for treatment in Manipur, said sources.
As per reports, the incident happened on October 20 when the boy, identified as Mutum Nelson, 16, was brought for drug overdose treatment at Thoubal district hospital. However, the security personnel of the hospital allegedly denied him entry and admission citing that one of the doctors of the hospital was tested with COVID-19 positive, it said.
It may be worth mentioning that following reports of unwanted incidences and hardships faced by non-COVID-19 patients, the state government has issued strict instructions to the hospitals, both government and private, to entertain all emergency patients seeking for treatment.
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Speaking to the media, Community Network for Empowerment (CoNE) president RK Nalinikanta said that without giving any opportunity to the patient’s family to reason for visiting the hospital, the security personnel denied entry at the hospital and asked them to leave immediately.
The family left with no option but returned home. Later, they contacted the NGO working in the field of drug and administered three ampoules of Naloxone, he said.
Unfortunately, it was too late to save the life of the boy as there was a gap of four hours when staff of NGO arrived at victim’s house, he added.
Earlier, a pregnant woman died along with her unborn baby after five hospitals, including government hospitals, in Imphal allegedly denied her admission insisting on COVID-19 negative certificate.
The news shocked waves across sectors which led to the state government issued directive to all private and government hospitals not to deny medical assistance to anyone, including COVID-19 positive persons.
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