Family alleges that not only was their child not attended to properly by doctors, but they were not even provided with an ambulance
The Pardhi family outside their home at Payarwadi village, Palghar. Pics/Hanif Patel
Six-year-old Ajay Pardhi, a tribal boy in Palghar, died of severe pneumonia on the eve of Republic Day, after travelling 100 km, from one hospital to another, in a tempo and motorcycle in the biting cold. His body, too, had to be brought back to his home in Payarwadi village, Palghar, over 40 km away, on a motorcycle, in the absence of an ambulance.
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Sources close to the family told mid-day that Ajay had been suffering from high fever for the past three days and his condition deteriorated on January 25. Yogesh Dhinde, a neighbour, told mid-day that the Pardhi family decided to go to a private hospital in Nashik “as doctors are generally not available at the government hospital in Mokhada taluka”. He added, “His father Yuvraj requested a vegetable carrying tempo to take Ajay to a hospital in Nashik and reached at 8.30 am.”
Ajay Pardhi, 6, the deceased
“He was administered some medicines at the private hospital and his blood tests and X-ray were conducted. But his health did not improve, so around 2.15 pm, the doctors suggested that Yuvraj take Ajay to a rural hospital in Palghar,” he added. As the family could not afford an ambulance, they requested a tempo driver take them to Mokhada. “The boy was then admitted to a rural hospital in Mokhada where doctors were not available. The nurses who were there administered some medicines, but Ajay’s oxygen level was dipping. But he said he wanted to return home,” he added.
Referred again
Around 15-20 minutes after his admission, the rural hospital referred Ajay to a bigger sub-district Cottage Hospital in Jawhar, but the family were not given an ambulance. “The Pardhi family had to carry their ailing child in a motorcycle in bone-chilling cold around 20 kms away to Cottage Hospital. They reached there around 4:15 pm but Ajay’s oxygen level did not improve and he died around 9 pm,” Dhinde said.
The rural hospital in Mokhada, Palghar
Dr Ramdas Marad, paediatrician at Cottage Hospital, said, “The cause of death is severe pneumonia.” The family then asked the hospital to provide a hearse vehicle to carry their son back home but to no avail. “Yuvraj told me that the driver demanded money to take his son’s body from Jawhar to Payarwadi… he [Yuvraj] told him that he would pay him at the village but the driver refused. So, at 9.45 pm, they took the body on a motorcycle and reached the village in the night,” said Dhinde.
“So, overall, the Pardhi family travelled 140 kms within 12 hours; 100 km carrying their son in a vegetable carrying tempo and motorcycle only to return to their village
carrying his dead body for 40 km…” Dhinde said.
Poor health infra
Vivek Pandit, chairman of a government-appointed committee to look into the status of schemes for tribals in Maharashtra, said the incident reflects “failure of the government”. “There is no civil hospital in Palghar district. And there is a dearth of gynaecologist, anaesthetic, paediatrician, etc. at rural hospitals. Even those appointed by the government at the hospitals are busy running their own clinics,” Pandit told mid-day.
Yuvraj Pardhi, deceased’s father
“Why was the Pardhi family not given an ambulance? What were the doctors doing? Why did they not attend the patient on time? Why is the government not taking steps to save tribal children? I would say this is a total collapse as there is no curative facility in Palghar,” he said. Additional civil surgeon Dr Rajendra Kelkar, however, told mid-day that there is a paediatrician at the rural hospital in Mokhada but the doctor has tested positive for COVID-19. “Hence, he was not available there. The patient was immediately referred to Cottage Hospital in Jawhar where we have two paediatricians. We could not save his life as he was brought to the Cottage Hospital in a very critical condition,” Dr Kelkar told mid-day.
Pandit wondered, “It means if a paediatrician in Mokhada tests positive, the ailing children visiting the hospital for treatment will be left to die? The health condition of Palghar district is so pathetic that if you fall ill, you will surely die as the doctors are busy running their own hospitals and clinics,” Pandit added.
Why no ambulance
Speaking about why Pardhis were not given an ambulance or hearse vehicle, Dr Kelkar said, “No driver demanded money from the bereaved family. The ambulance driver was not available and told the family to wait for 30 minutes, but they did not wait and returned. But if allegations are being made, we will check it at our level.”
Vivek Pandit, a tribal activist
In the absence of a civil hospital in Palghar district, the patients—mostly poverty-stricken and uneducated—are left to die. A nine-month pregnant tribal woman Rekha Potinda, 36, from Kayri village in Jawhar taluka, died at a Nashik Civil hospital in October. Potinda was forced to travel to three different medical institutions, even as she was bleeding, before breathing her last.
140 km
Total distance travelled
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