I am posting this from Amrit’s blog:
Just read a very sad account at Mridula’s IIT-K blog and I think the issue needs to be highlighted because such a rot is present everywhere in our society these days.
The canteen owner of one of the IIT halls came across a migrant laborer’s boy who had been stung or bitten by a scorpion or a snake. The canteen owner did everything he could have possibly done, but unfortunately he couldn’t save the boy. The reason: first the security guards at IIT didn’t offer any help, and when he took the boy to IIT’s health center, first the hospital refused to treat the boy because he didn’t have a health card (and they refused to accept the canteen owner’s health card) and when the canteen owner called the doctor who works at the center, she simply refused to come because the patient was a laborer’s child. In fact she screamed at the canteen owner for disturbing her. You can read the entire account on Mridula’s blog.
Since life in general has no value in our country, such incidents can only be avoided by severely punishing those who could have saved the kid but didn’t. The licence of the doctor should be revoked, she should be sacked, and then she should be arrested for causing death due to negligence. She is unnecessarily wasting a post that could have had a compassionate doctor. When you are lousy, your attitude shows everywhere — tomorrow she can easily cause death of a student or a faculty member. After all, every doctor takes the Hippocratic Oath before obtaining a degree and if he or she violates that oath, he or she doesn’t deserve that degree.
The guards should be sacked too because if they don’t have the feelings to protect a young boy, how can you expect them to protect the institute when the need arises?
Does this sound harsh? I don’t think so. The death of the laborer’s son is harsh, a death that could have so easily been avoided.
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