Young dengue victim: Fate or medical negligence?

Leslie PERERA Ja-ela Central corr.

Eshan Mayantha Jayasekara (14) a Grade 9 student of St. Peter's College, Bamabalapitiya died of dengue at the Colombo National Hospital on Monday. Doctors at the National Hospital said they could not save his life because he was in a very advanced stage of the disease when he was admitted to the hospital.

Mayantha's mother Pearl Jayasekara said her son ran a temperature on June 22 and was treated by the family doctor. Since he later developed a stomach ailment and the temperature did not go down they admitted him to a private hospital at Wattala the following day.

As there was no improvement by Thursday she and her husband wanted to transfer him to the National Hospital but a doctor at the private hospital refused to discharge the child and sent him to the intensive care unit insisting that they could cure him. Jayasekara said that since they were not satisfied with the treatment, they forcibly got him discharged and took him to the Colombo National Hospital where doctors and Nursing staff did their best to treat the child but it was too late.

Mayantha's father Indrajith Jayassekara (53) who was in a daze unable to reconcile with his son's demise was critical of the negative attitude of the medical staff at certain private hospitals which he said lacked basic facilities to treat acute ailments like dengue.

The entire Kandana area including Bernadette Mawatha where the Jayasekara residence is situated was grief stricken over the untimely death of a promising child. Mayantha's funeral was due to take place yesterday.