Two die in accident while shifting minor’s body on motorcycle

Officials will visit the hospital on Monday to probe the incident

KARACHI: At least two persons died in a road accident near Mirpurkhas city who were carrying a body of a minor on the motorcycle from city's district headquarter hospital Saturday.

The health department officials will conduct a probe into the matter following Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah's instruction to provide him with the report on the accident.

The local activists and journalists said that the parents of the two-and-half-year old Mohan asked the hospital management to provide them with the ambulance so that they could transport the body to the village. "But the hospital administration asks about Rs2,000 which the poor parents couldn't afford," said Mohammad Hasham, a local journalist.

The common practice across Sindh is to ask the families to provide fuel for the ambulance in case of transporting bodies from hospitals to villages or smaller towns.

Sharing the details of the accident, an official from the hospital said that Mohan was brought to the hospital four days ago, adding the parents took the boy away on the third day without informing the doctors. "He was brought to hospital again within eight hours," said hospital's Civil Surgeon Dr Khalil Ahmed.

The boy died in the wee hours of Saturday and his father, Keval, his uncles Ramesh and Cheetan, reportedly asked the hospital administration to provide them with an ambulance. "The administration demanded fuel charges," Hasham said. "It was not possible for boy's father to arrange money," he added.

As poor father and his brothers left the hospital taking the body on a motorcycle, a speedy mini truck hit the motorcycle outside the city on Mirpurkhas, killing Ramesh on the spot.

Keval and Cheetan were brought to the same hospital where Keval, the father of the boy, succumbed to his injuries while Cheetan is under treatment.

Doctors said that Cheetan, 30, was out of danger.

Taking notice of the incident, a three-member committee has been formed by the provincial Director General Health Services Dr Masood Ahmed Solangi. The committee will visit the hospital on Monday and will submit a report to the health secretary, health minister and the chief minister.

"It is criminal negligence, and all responsible will be punished accordingly," Dr Solangi said.

Another official from the department told The Express Tribune said that no action is taken when the top government officials, including the chief minister, takes notice of an incident. "Not a single person has been punished for his negligence," the official disclosed. "Cases of such negligence are being reported regularly but the top officials forget after a few days," he added.

Speaking to The Express Tribune, Dr Khalil said boy's father did not demand an ambulance from the hospital. He said that he himself asked all details from the injured Cheetan. "The injured person confirmed me that no ambulance was demanded from the hospital," he claimed. "The father wanted to shift the body on a motorcycle," he added.

Replying to a question, Dr Khalil said that the hospital does not provide hospital to any family for shifting a patient or even a body until and unless the families and attendants demand.

The health department's officials said that no free ambulance service exists in Sindh even for shifting the bodies. "A poor family has to arrange money for fuel," an official said. He suggested that the government should be made mandatory to provide ambulance service in case of transporting bodies.

Later, the hospital provided an ambulance to the families to shift three bodies, including the boy, his father and uncle.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 15^th, 2019.