Inquiry after kin of dead child claim lack of services at PHC

Trichy: A departmental inquiry has been launched by the district health department after a family, which lost its four-and-a-half-year-old child, complained of a lack of services and staff at the Kannanur primary health centre (PHC) in Thuraiyur.In a video that surfaced on social media, the family is heard saying, "If we go to a govt-run facility in an emergency, there is no doctor even to administer first aid. There is no emergency facility, and it is in a sorry state. When we asked them to perform CPR, they did not know how. With just a compounder and a staff nurse, why have such a big building? It caters to 18 villages."Sources said the incident occurred around 11am on Saturday, when the child, S Prajan, who was suffering from breathing problems, was taken to the PHC. However, due to the lack of adequate medical services, the child was shifted to a private hospital, where he was declared dead on arrival.Sources added that one doctor was on leave on Saturday, while another post remains vacant. Health department officials told TOI that an inquiry has been initiated to look into the matter.