A young boy died two days after doctors rejected his parents’ repeated desperate pleas for blood tests, and an autopsy confirmed he died of leukemia.
Sandipan Dhar, who was 21 months old, died on March 24 after suffering from a prolonged fever.
His parents, who live in Joondalup, about 25 kilometers north of Perth’s CBD, had reportedly turned up at the Key Largo Medical Center GP’s office three times in the weeks before his death.
They also begged doctors at Joondalup Health Campus to perform blood tests, but they were denied.
“The doctors said we didn’t need to do any more tests and we should take Sandipan home and monitor him for at least five days to see if his fever subsides,” said the boy’s father, Sanjoy Dhar. Western Australia.
Sandipan Dhar (pictured), who was 21 months old, died on March 24 after suffering from a prolonged fever.
He added: ‘The doctors and nurses on duty were trying to put all the blame on us, saying that we arrived too late.
‘But when we said we’d been to the hospital on Friday, they just kept their mouths shut. From then on they didn’t say a single word about our baby’s complications.’
Little Sandipan, who his parents said was “strong” and “full of energy” before his rapid decline, began suffering from a fever two days after receiving his standard 18-month vaccinations at Key’s GP office. Largo, February 19.
Her father called the doctor, but they told him that the fever was normal after the injections and that they should treat her with Panadol and Nurofen.
But after showing no improvement, his parents took him back to the medical center on March 14.
His request for a blood test was rejected and doctors reportedly recommended the same treatment.
Their parents had begged doctors at Joondalup Health Campus (pictured) for blood tests, but they were denied.
They returned two more times, on March 20 and 22, and doctors prescribed antibiotics at the first appointment after diagnosing Sandipan with tonsillitis.
At the last appointment, his parents demanded that he be referred to the hospital, which was finally accepted.
Their parents asked doctors and nurses at Joondalup Health Campus to do a blood test, but they were denied.
Two days later they returned to the same hospital because Sandipan was having difficulty breathing.
Doctors ordered an X-ray of his chest, which appeared to show he was suffering from pneumonia, and gave him oxygen.
“I asked the doctors how quickly pneumonia can develop because we brought Sandipan in on Friday and they said he was perfectly fine,” Mr Dhar said.
“They didn’t give me an answer and said they needed to do more research.”
Dhar claimed that a doctor asked why Sandipan had not been brought in sooner.
Sandipan’s mother was forced to pin her arms to her sides to prevent her from removing her oxygen mask.
At that moment he noticed blood coming out of his mouth and they took him away.
Two hours later they were told that their son had died.
An autopsy later revealed that he died of leukemia.
Sandipan’s older brother was so upset and confused by his death that his parents had to remove all photographs of the dead boy from their home.
“Seeing photographs alerts Mrinal, Sandipan’s four-year-old brother, who still refuses to believe that he will not return,” Dhar said.
Sandipan’s older brother was so upset and confused by his death that his parents had to remove all photographs of the dead boy from their home. In the photo: Sanidpan Dhar
“We tried for days to explain it to Mrinal, but it made him so angry that in the end we started lying and saying that his brother had been gone for a while.”
Key Largo Medical Center declined to comment when contacted by Daily Mail Australia.
Ramsay Health Care, which operates Joondalup Health Campus, told the newspaper they had launched an investigation into the tragedy which had so far found it was “unlikely Sandipan’s hospital care was a factor in his death”.
A spokesman for Ramsay said that samples collected from little Sandipan’“He showed features of an undiagnosed long-term acute illness that may have contributed to his death.”
Western Australian Health Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson (pictured)
Health Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson said it would be best to wait for the results of the hospital’s investigation before commenting.
“What has happened here is incredibly devastating, but very, very rare,” he said.
Daily Mail Australia has approached Ramsay for further comment.