Tension prevailed at Capital Hospital in Bhubaneswar following the death of a one-year-old child as the family members of the deceased alleged medical negligence and administration of wrong medication.

The family from Salia Sahi had rushed the child to the hospital at around 3:00 am today after his condition deteriorated. According to the family, the doctor on duty prescribed treatment which allegedly led to the child’s death.

The child’s mother alleged, “We had first brought our son for treatment on Sunday afternoon. The doctor advised us to do an echocardiogram on Monday for proper diagnosis. Later, when his health worsened, we rushed to the hospital again. The doctor on duty was asleep and came after a long delay. When we requested admission, we were told there were no beds available and to come on Monday afternoon.”

She further said, “We showed the earlier reports to the doctor, and based on those, we were prescribed medication through inhalation that was to be given three times with a 20-minute gap. After the first dose, his throat sounded unusual. Even after the complete dosage, his condition did not improve, so another medicine was prescribed. As soon as we started administering that, he developed hiccups. We rushed him back to the doctor, but he died on the way.”

She alleged that doctors in the morning shift blamed her for giving the medicine incorrectly, while another doctor claimed the prescribed medicine should not have been given at all.