Cuttack: In a shocking case of callousness, doctors at the Acharya Harihar Regional Cancer Research Hospital here on Tuesday refused to administer injection to a four-year-old cancer-affected boy, as he lay writhing in his father's arms.
For more than four hours from 12 noon till 4 pm, Imran, the child Simra's father, beseeched doctors and nurses on duty to administer the injection that he had bought from a nearby shop even as his son lay writhing in agony due to abdominal pain. The boy finally died on his father's shoulder after four hours.
A doctor at the Pain and Palliative Care Centre had written the prescription for injection, but soon after left for lunch. By the time Imran brought the injection, other doctors and nurses refused to administer the injection.
A dejected and wailing Imran sat on dharna outside the main gate of the cancer hospital, even as a mob of enraged relatives and onlookers smashed tables, chairs and windows at the Pain and Palliative Centre.
A traffic snarl occured, after which police arrived on the scene and persuaded Imran to call off his dharna.
The child's father told reporters that not a single nurse or doctor listened to his request to administer the injection. "Come after sometime..", "sorry, our duty is over", "let the doc who prescribed the injection administer it", were the replies given to Imran by the doctors and nurses.
Later, officials of the Hospital tried to cover up their negligence by saying that the child was already critical and was brought to the hospital at the last stage. "Nothing could have been done at this stage", said an official.
However, Imran said, his son Simra could have been saved had the injection been administered timely. Imran hails from a village near Bahugram in Cuttack district.
