A one-year-old child died of dehydration on July 29 after reportedly being denied treatment at five hospitals across four districts in Uttarakhand. The child was the son of Yogendra Singh, an Indian Army personnel posted in Jammu, who was on leave at his native village in Pauri Garhwal.
According to reports, the child developed vomiting and loose motions on the morning of July 29. Singh first took his son to a government hospital in Lansdowne, where he was informed that the facility did not have pediatric services. The child was referred to the Kotdwar Base Hospital, around 40 kilometers away.
At Kotdwar Base Hospital, Singh claimed that no pediatrician was available. From there, he proceeded to a private hospital in Bijnor, Uttar Pradesh. The child was administered an injection and given saline at the Bijnor facility, but doctors advised that he be shifted to a better-equipped hospital in Meerut. Singh decided against the Meerut referral due to the long distance and urgency of the situation.
He returned to Uttarakhand and went to a private hospital in Haridwar, where doctors reportedly refused to treat the child and suggested taking him to a child specialist. The family then rushed to another hospital in Roorkee. By the time they reached, doctors declared the child dead.
The child had turned one on July 16. In the span of a few hours on July 29, Singh had traveled across five hospitals in Lansdowne, Kotdwar, Bijnor, Haridwar, and Roorkee in search of medical help. He alleged that delays, lack of pediatric services, and refusal to admit the child at each facility resulted in the death.
Following media coverage, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami directed the District Magistrate of Pauri to investigate the incident. The state health department also launched a probe to examine the availability of doctors and emergency pediatric services at the hospitals involved. Officials have been asked to submit a report within three days. The case has drawn attention to gaps in the state’s emergency healthcare infrastructure, particularly pediatric care.
(Rh/Eth/NS/MSM/SE)