The National Human Rights Commission has issued a notice to the Government of Uttar Pradesh through its Chief Secretary over media reports pointing towards lack of proper medical care facilities leading to inconvenience to the patients and their attendants in the wake of some recent incidents in different parts of the State. The State government has been given four weeks to submit a detailed report in the matter.
In one of the incidents, a 70 year old man had to carry his ailing daughter-in-law on his shoulders allegedly, for want of a stretcher in the District Hospital, Mirzapur. In another incident, an ambulance driver demanded a sum of Rs 1500 for carrying the body of a deceased back to his village and the relatives were forced to carry the body on a motorcycle in Kasganj district before some people came forward and arranged a private ambulance. Yet another incident, which the Commission had taken suo motu cognizance of in the recent past, was about how a 12 year old boy was carried on shoulders by his father as there was not stretcher available in the government run hospital in Kanpur. The boy later died in the hospital.
The Commission has observed that it is the duty of the State to protect the right to health of its citizens. The government hospitals are generally approached by the poor people who cannot afford treatment at private hospitals. Such incidents, where the family members in the state of helplessness, are forced to carry their loved ones on their shoulders for want of basic infrastructure, are indicative of violation of their right to dignity and sheer callous and negligent attitude of the authorities concerned.
As per reports, a young woman was brought to the District Hospital, Mirzapur on 4th September, 2016. The doctors did not attend her for nearly 5 hours. She was taken to a private hospital but was referred back to the District Hospital again. No stretcher was available and the lady was carried by her father-in-law on his shoulders. Her condition deteriorated and she was referred to Varanasi on the 6th September, 2016 where she died the next day.
National Human Rights Commission
