UP: Denied Ambulance, Labourer Forced To Carry 15-Yr-Old Son’s Dead Body From Hospital

In a tragic incident that also epitomizes the state of healthcare in India, a poor labourer was forced to carry son’s dead body as he was not provided with a stretcher or an ambulance by the doctors of the government hospital he had approached for help. This happened in Etawah, Uttar Pradesh, on 2 May 2017.

45-year-old Udayveer alleged that doctors did not treat his son, Pushpendra before they turned him away.

#WATCH Etawah: Man carries body of his son on shoulders after a govt hospital allegedly denies to provide ambulance or hearse pic.twitter.com/gXB0CZULee

— ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) May 2, 2017

A weeping Udayveer told reporters,

“My son just had a pain in his legs. The doctors spared only a few minutes to see my child and said take him away, there is no life in the boy … No one told me that I was entitled to an ambulance to take my son’s body back.”

Dr. Rajeev Yadav, Chief Medical Officer of Etawah, admitted that the fault was on their side and assured that strict action would be taken against those responsible for this gross travesty. “The boy was brought dead to the hospital yesterday afternoon. I am told the doctors were busy with a bus accident case and so they could not ask him (Udayveer) if he needed transport. There will be action … no doubt it is a blot on the reputation of this hospital and the fault is ours.”

A disturbing trend

The incident brings back memories of four similar incidents in recent months.

• August 2016, Odisha: A man, Dana Majhi, walked 10 km with his wife’s body on his shoulder along with his 12-year-old daughter. He had no vehicle to take home his wife’s body from a government hospital. His wife died of tuberculosis at the hospital in Kalahandi; she was only 42.
• August 2016, Uttar Pradesh: 12-year-old Ansh had to die on his father’s shoulder after he was allegedly turned down at the government-run Lala Lajpat Rai Hospital in Kanpur.
• October 2016, Gujarat: In Dang district of Gujarat, a man was forced to carry the dead body of 14-year-old Minesh Palara because of the unavailability of an ambulance.
• January 2017, Odisha: A villager named Gati Dhibar, of Pechamundi village, from eastern Odisha’s Angul district, had to walk 15 km carrying his dead daughter on his shoulders after failing to get free hearse service.

The Logical Indian requests the concerned authorities to take proper and stern action against people responsible for Udayveer’s ordeal in UP. What happened with Udayveer was disgraceful and shameful; the hospital authorities should be held accountable and punished accordingly and swiftly.