Constable alleges JJ doctors' negligence caused his 22-month-old son's death

Ashraf Shaikh with his son Azaan

A constable has blamed the JJ hospital for causing the death of his 22-month-old son due to their negligence. Constable Ashraf Shaikh, 33, who works at the Waliv police station registered the complaint against JJ doctors on Sunday at the JJ Marg police station.

Suspected rabies
Shaikh told mid-day that his son Azaan fell ill on March 26. He started crying profusely that night, so they took him to Lilavati hospital since his wife works there. Doctors found symptoms of rabies and referred Azaan to JJ, claiming they are not equipped to treat rabies.

When they went to JJ, the hospital authorities told Ashraf that his child needs to be diagnosed properly and that for treating rabies, a sample of Azaan's saliva has to be sent to Bangalore, because they cannot conduct such exams. Doctors then tried to put a pipe in Azaan's food pipe to get the saliva, but in the process, he coughed up blood. He was immediately taken to the ICU.

Seeing all this made Ashraf more worrisome, but the doctors calmed him down. Ashraf later took a flight to Bangalore for the test, but to his surprise, his son had tested negative for rabies. He returned to Mumbai and gave the reports to the doctor, but early Sunday morning, Azaan passed away.

Internal inquiry ordered
Unable to bear the pain of losing his child like this, Ashraf was shocked that the doctor could not even diagnose his son's illness, which ultimately led to his death. Ashraf approached the JJ Marg police and complained against the doctor. His statement was recorded and forwarded to JJ hospital. Based on the complaint, an internal inquiry has been ordered against the doctor.

'Tried our best'
"We tried our best to save the child. He was refused treatment at two hospitals and we admitted him on humanitarian grounds. He had symptoms of rabies. We have formed an internal committee to look into the matter," said Dr S Nanandkar, dean, JJ hospital.

Action will be taken
An officer from JJ Marg police station said, "We have taken the father's statement, which was later sent to a JJ hospital committee, which will conduct an inquiry. If anything suspicious is found during the same, action will be taken against those doctors."

He said a post-mortem was conducted but the cause of death is yet to be ascertained. Viscera and other materials have been sent for testing at a forensic lab. An Accidental Death Report has been filed.