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Allegedly denied blood by bank at Kishtwar district hospital in J&K, 17-year-old succumbs to injuries

Srinagar: Locals staged demonstrations at the Kishtwar district hospital in Jammu and Kashmir following the death of a 17-year-old boy who suffered a severe head injury after a wall collapsed on him as the result of heavy rains in the region. The protestors alleged that the state-run hospital failed to provide adequate medical care to the teenager which led to his demise.

Identified as Saqib Hussain, the boy suffered severe head injuries when a wall collapsed on him as he was passing through Tapal Galin on Wednesday morning. He was rushed to the Kishtwar district hospital where doctors told his family members that he was in need of blood. The boy's kin claim that they approached the hospital's blood bank, however, officials at the bank told them to replace the stock of blood before using it for Saqib's treatment.

One of the boy's relatives claimed that it took the family about an hour-and-a-half to search for a donor. When they finally did, the girl's blood was taken to the blood bank in order to put it in place of the blood required for Saqib's treatment. However, it has been too late by that time and the 17-year-old boy succumbed to his head injuries. Family members demonstrating outside the government hospital decided to end their protest only after senior police officials and the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) of Kishtwar arrived at the spot and assured action against any guilty parties.

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The most recent reports suggest that the official in charge of the blood bank of the Kishtwar district hospital has been booked and arrested by local police. Further investigation into the matter is underway and more details are awaited as this is a developing story.

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Public healthcare machinery in the state of Jammu and Kashmir is rife with challenges and often invites heavy criticism from medical experts. In May of this year, an ambulance maintained by the state health department was caught on camera being used to ferry goods in Kishtwar. This was the third such incident in two months from the state of Jammu and Kashmir where an ambulance was used for menial tasks instead of ferrying patients. Taking cognizance of the matter, the deputy commissioner ordered an inquiry into the matter. In one of the prior instances, an ambulance was seen carrying poultry in the Jammu region. The vehicle in question belonged to a local government health centre. This came at a time when the state was under a heavy blanket of snow and patients were being carried to city hospitals by locals on their shoulders owing to the lack of road connectivity.

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