A five-year-old tribal girl died allegedly due to medical negligence at a Community Health Centre early Tuesday morning in the tribal dominated Kawant taluka in Vadodara district. According to the father of the girl,Himmatsinh Rathwa,despite filing an application in the Kawant police station,no investigation has started. The girl,Kokila Rathwa,had high fever. Around 3.30 am,Himmatsinh called up 108 emergency services for an ambulance. According to the complaint,the ambulance reached Kaladra village,which is 15 kilometres away from Kawant,around 4 am. Thereafter,the patient reached the Kawant CHC around 5.30 am. She would have been cured,but there was just one nurse,Durga Rathwa,present in the hospital. The medical officer,Dr A K Gajjar,was not present on duty, said Rathwa in his complaint. He works as a seasonal migrant labourer. While Gajjar refused to comment on the issue,Regional Deputy Director of Health R M Mehta expressed ignorance about the incident. We will investigate the matter further if necessary. However,I am not aware of it, he said. The police are yet to lodge a formal complaint although Inspector R H Chauhan took Rathwas application. We have to investigate the case. Only then can we lodge a complaint. We cannot comment on the matter anymore, said Chauhan. The Kawant CHC is reportedly short of staff with only two medical officers instead of three doctors. Similarly,the CHC does not have a pharmacist,which is a must for all CHCs under the state health department.
