On 18 February 2025, relatives of a 9-year-old girl who died from a suspected snakebite staged a protest at the Primary Health Centre (PHC) in Thenmalai, near Sivagiri following the tragic death of Suba Karthika, who passed away on 15 February 2025. Her family alleged negligence of the administration that the nurse had refused to treat the child and that no doctor was present at the facility.
Though Karthika’s body had already been buried, some health staff reportedly told the media that they had treated the child before referring her to Sivagiri Government Hospital. This sparked outrage among her relatives, leading them to protest.
Karthika’s aunt, M. Jothimani, who had taken the child to the PHC, recounted the events, “Karthika was playing outside on 15 February 2025 night when she complained of leg pain and swelling. When we took her to the PHC, there was no doctor. I laid her on a bed, but the nurse did not touch her. She simply told me to take her to Sivagiri Government Hospital without arranging an ambulance. While we were on our way there on a two-wheeler, the child passed away. The health staff misled the media, claiming they had treated her at the PHC, and some reports carried their version. If anti-venom had been administered at the PHC, she might have survived.”
During the protest, local residents demanded that senior health officials review the PHC’s CCTV footage to verify the truth. “The nurse should have informed Jothimani that there was no anti-venom available and advised her to take the child to the government hospital. Instead, she was rude and told Jothimani to leave. Most of the time, doctors aren’t even available at this PHC. The staff often humiliates elderly women, telling them to return after bathing. How can an elderly person with a fever be expected to bathe?” the protesting women, including Karthika’s mother, told female police officers.
Patient dignity and self-respect are fundamental human rights: PHC-யில் வயசானவங்கள மரியாதை இல்லாம, ‘குளிச்சிட்டு வந்தா வா இல்லன்னா வராத’ன்னு சொல்றாங்க. இந்த அக்காவுக்கு கால் கையெல்லாம் புண். ‘புண்னோட வர்ற, இந்த கவர்மென்ட் ஆஸ்பத்திரி உனக்காமா திறந்து வச்சிருக்கு? இனிமேல் இந்த… https://t.co/xWGqj854CQ pic.twitter.com/WkJeYT6v4h
— Thinakaran Rajamani (@thinak_) February 19, 2025
Dr. Govinthan, the District Health Officer, clarified that in secondary PHCs like the one in Thenmalai, doctors are unavailable at night and only provide on-call support. “The PHC staff allowed the child to be taken on a two-wheeler because the ambulance would have taken longer to arrive. The actual cause of death will be confirmed after the postmortem report is received,” he added.
(With inputs from TNIE)
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