Very Shameful

In a brazen display of insensitivity, doctors at VSHospital refused to attend to an eight-yearold rape victim for 45 minutes asshe lay in the emergency ward, bleeding from her private parts and writhing inpain. That was not the end of Sunita's (name changed) harrowing experience.When the staff finally attended to her, they made the child relive the traumaby asking uncomfortable questions and discussing the incident among themselvesin front of her. The hospital's alleged delay in providing medical assistanceand the shameful behaviour of the staff is in clear violation of The Protectionof Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO), 2012.
"The registered medical practitioner, to whom such woman is sent, shall without delay examine her and prepare a report of her examination," states section 27 of the Act. But no such process was initiated immediately. The Act also specifies several guidelines to be followed by healthcare personnel while evaluating patients of suspected child sexual abuse. It states, "Do not ask uncomfortable questions related to the details of the abuse...the medical staff will have to be sensitive while asking questions to the victim as she may be traumatised and vulnerable."
On Thursday, Mirror had reported that the girl, a resident of Ghatlodia gam, was allegedly raped by her 40- year-old neighbour on the latter's terrace. While she did not speak up about the incident initially, since the accused had allegedly threatened her, she later broke down and told them what had happened. Shocked, her parents first contacted Childline and rushed her to VS Hospital, accompanied by the volunteers of the NGO. But no doctor came forward to attend to her. They did not turn up even when the family made desperate requests.
"The doctors kept us waiting for 45 minutes, saying they had more important cases to handle. My daughter was crying due to pain. Still, nobody came forward to check her condition," said Sunita's father Mahesh Makwana (name changed). He added, "I was even curtly asked to leave her in the ward and wait outside." According to the Act, it is mandatory for one of the parents of the victim to be present with her during the treatment. Dilip Mer, the state coordinator for Childline told Mirror that when his team went to the resident medical officer to urge him to begin the girl's treatment, he refused to speak to them.
"When we told him that the girl had been raped, instead of giving her immediate medical attention, he asked us questions like 'how much is the pain?', 'how much is she bleeding?" alleged Mer. Once all the admission formalities were over, the girl became a topic of discussion at the ward. "They started seeking specific details from Sunita about the incident. They wanted to know the manner in which she was assaulted. They even discussed the horrifying details among themselves in front of her," alleged Mer. "This is insensitive behaviour. You do not expect it from anybody, least of all medical staff.
The doctors said they were busy attending an accident victim. But isn't this child important, too?" asked Mer. "What is the point of going to the emergency ward if people are made to wait for so long?" asked the angry father. Medical Superintendent S T Malhan said that he will look into the matter. "We are very particular about such cases. Our staff is well-trained to handle sensitive cases. I have not received any written or oral complaint from the family, but I will look into the matter," he said. Sunita was discharged from the hospital on Thursday after treatment.