Kolkata, Oct 26: Calcutta Medical College and Hospital has constituted a four-member investigation committee to examine allegations of medical negligence in the death of an 11-year-old boy on Sunday, Nation Press reported. The panel, headed by Professor Rakesh Mondal of Paediatric Surgery and including specialists in paediatric surgery, cardiology and medicine, has been directed to submit its findings within 24 hours and to establish the sequence of clinical events leading to the child's death.

Source: Nation Press

The boy, from Andul in Howrah district, was brought to the hospital's Mother and Child Hub at 10 am on Sunday with stomach pain and died within about one and a half hours, according to his family. Medical Dialogues, citing reports, said he was able to walk into the hospital but was declared dead around 11.30 am, and that hospital principal Indranil Biswas said doctors attempted cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) after the child suddenly suffered cardiac arrest but were unable to revive him.

Source: Medical Dialogues

What the family alleges, and what doctors say

The family alleges that the treatment was handled entirely by junior doctors without senior supervision, and that a wrong injection was administered. A relative claimed three injections were given, while doctors' account was two — a dispute both outlets report as contested, not settled. According to doctors cited by Nation Press, the boy was first given an injection to relieve stomach pain, a medicine for a gastric problem was then planned, and after a delay in procuring Pantoprazole an alternative drug was administered, after which he reportedly went into shock and died of cardiac arrest. Some doctors maintained that such medication for stomach pain is standard clinical practice, and a junior doctor said an X-ray had been planned once the pain subsided but could not be taken because the boy deteriorated rapidly.

The hospital campus turned tense on Sunday afternoon as aggrieved relatives confronted police and hospital security personnel, with reports that some relatives allegedly attempted to attack officers with helmets. Police chased the protesters and detained several of them, taking them away in a police van. West Bengal Health Minister Sharadwat Mukherjee visited the hospital and assured the family that a proper investigation would be conducted.

The panel's report, due within 24 hours, is expected to determine whether clinical protocols were followed and whether the administration of the alternative medicine was medically justified, and whether formal action is taken against any treating doctors. The family's negligence allegation remains an allegation under investigation. The boy's name is not published here, in line with the protection of a minor victim's identity.