A woman and her nine-year-old daughter passed away at Sir Sunderlal Hospital (SSH) of BHU of a suspected liver ailment following which allegations of medical negligence were levelled against its staff, prompting hospital authorities to launch an inquiry into the matter.
According to the hospital, the woman, identified as Renu Singh (40) and her daughter, Annu Singh, both died on September 18.
The duo's demise saw protests being held at SSH of Banaras Hindu University with protesters alleging that the duo died due to lack of timely care.
When contacted, BHU's Medical Officer, KK Gupta, said an "inquiry committee" has been set up to look into the matter and that it would submit its report at the earliest.
Gupta, however, denied the charge that the duo were denied admission to the hospital and died due to lack of proper treatment.
"As there were limited beds in OPD, the mother was given admission in the medicine department. But her condition was so critical that she needed an immediate liver transplant within an hour if she was to be kept alive," the medical officer said.
Hospital staff tried their best in the circumstances, but were unfortunately unable to save the mother, said Gupta, adding that the daughter was given admission in the paediatrics department, where she, too, succumbed.
He said that the duo had contracted some water-borne disease along with a liver ailment.
Gupta said that no post-mortem of the deceased duo was conducted as the family members refused to go for the same and took the bodies back for performing their last rites.
Incidentally, it was on September 18 that Prime Minister Narendra Modi formally inaugurated the much-awaited BHU trauma centre via remote control from the DLW grounds here during a visit to Varanasi, the Lok Sabha constituency which the former Gujarat Chief Minister represents in Parliament.
