15-year-old dies in SMCH; family blames hospital, "Was brought at last stage," authority replies

Harinagar, Irongmara resident Kalicharan Das rushed his 15-year-old son to Silchar Medical College and Hospital at around 5:15 AM today morning. Class X student of Irongmara High School, Pritam Das was suffering from fever for the last three days and had developed a breathing problem late last night.

The family members allege that they had to knock several doors at SMCH for medical attention. “They simply said go to the COVID block. How will the poor people from Irongmara know where is the COVID block? They kept screaming that their son’s condition is deteriorating but nobody paid any attention,” said a family member.

After 30 minutes of running around, they got help. “They said there is no one to carry the patient so we must do it ourselves. We pulled him up and rushed to the emergency section and they entered something in his son’s nostrils. They said they are collecting samples for the COVID test and will only provide further treatment after testing the samples. Meanwhile, his conditions kept deteriorating,” added the family member.

As the laboratorians collected the sample, Pritam Das lost consciousness. “He also started bleeding from nose and mouth, there were no doctors available to even check on him. Five minutes after Pritam Das started bleeding, the doctors said his RAT (test performed with Rapid Antigen Test Kit) results are negative and they will now put the oxygen mask on,” informed the family member.

Five minutes after that, the doctors told Pritam Das’ mother that he is no more. The 15-year-old had breathed his last. “Pritam did not have asthma, this was the first time he encountered a breathing problem. Yes, he was suffering from fever for three days, but in the village, the perception is once you go to SMCH, you do not return alive and so they did not go to see a doctor,” said Krishna Lal Das, Kalicharan Das’ elder brother.

He added, “They aren’t even giving the body. They are saying they will perform one more test to check if Pritam is COVID positive. Where will he get COVID from, we do not have anyone infected in our village.”

The authority in the Silchar Medical College and Hospital denied any delay on their part. “He was brought to the hospital at the very last stage. We did not get the time necessary to provide adequate treatment,” stated the official spokesperson of Silchar Medical College and Hospital.

On the question of handing over the dead body, the spokesperson replied, “We are just following the protocols. Yes, it is true that Pritam Das tested negative on rapid antigen test kit but we cannot handover the dead body before checking the reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) results. That will take around 18 hours, so the body has been kept in the morgue. If his sample test positive on RT-PCR we will handover the body to administration and in case it’s negative we will let the family do the last rites.”

Krishna Lal Das feels this is a huge blow for the family and his brother. “Kalicharan Das, my brother works at the paddy field and fisheries. He has spent all his money on raising Pritam Das. He wanted Pritam to grow as a scholar; today he is left with nothing. Silchar Medical College and Hospital management must find a way to provide immediate assistance to the patients in critical condition,” said Das.

The administration has repeatedly appealed to the general public to immediately see a doctor if they develop, fever, cough, throat ache sort of symptoms. “They need to generate awareness in villages and help people understand the system. They are not educated, most of them can’t read newspapers. I feel the doctors could have saved Pritam Das if they tried on time. However, if the patient died because he was brought in the last stage, it exposes a lack of awareness among people for which the administration must take some steps,” added Das.

Pritam Das adds to the list that includes Sayan Das, Mustak Ahmed, and many others. Each of their parents, attendants alleged lack of cooperation from SMCH, however, each time, the hospital authorities have denied the allegations.

Here are Pritam’s photos with his friends and family