Malpractice: 2-year-old dies from wrong injection

The two-year-old child was administered an injection at the clinic of a local dispenser.

UCH SHAREEF: A two-year-old boy died after he was administered the wrong injection by a local dispenser on Sunday evening.

Syedpur resident Abdul Majeed of a local village brought his two-year-old child Abdul Waheed to the clinic of a local dispenser on Sunday afternoon. “My son was experiencing severe pain in his left ear for several days and was crying constantly,” Majeed said.

Majeed said that the dispenser, Sherbaaz, did not even examine his son and instead immediately administered an injection to stop the pain. “My son’s cries grew louder after he gave the injection and within ten minutes he died in my arms,” Majeed said.

Majeed had taken his son for treatment to a government clinic in the area but the local dispenser Arif had deployed one of his subordinates Sherbaaaz on daily wages at the clinic.

“Whenever I am not around Sherbaaz manages the clinic in my absence,” Arif told the police. Police officials said that a large group of people had gathered outside Arif’s clinic to protest after the death of 2-year-old Abdul Waheed.

“Arif is seldom available at the clinic himself because he has opened a private clinic near Araayin village,” said a resident of the Area Kaukab Chohan, adding “but he had returned from a visit and saw what had happened.”

Majeed went to the police and filed a case against the clinic owner Arif as well as Sherbaaz. “During the commotion, Sherbaaz managed to escape the scene,” police inspector Hassan Nauman said.

“My son only had a minor ear infection. I sent my husband to get him checked and for medicine and now he is dead,” Waheed’s mother told police officials.

Majeed told the police that Waheed was his only child and demanded that the police take strict action against the accused dispenser Sherbaaz.

Arif said “I had nothing to do with any of this. I wasn’t even here and I am not sure what injection Sherbaaz gave the child.”

Locals in the area protested outside Arif’s clinic for over three hours and blocked the main road outside. Arif told police that he was afraid the crowd would damage his property.

Police has lodged an FIR No 14/2011 on Majeed’s request in the Fazilpur Police Station under Section 322 and Station House Officer (SHO) Fayaz Ahmed Khan said that the police had located and caught the criminal.

“We heard reports that Sherbaaz was in Araayin village and a team has arrested him,” the SHO said.

After the incident the police have sealed off the clinic and dispensary.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 18^th, 2011.