By Maesam Khan
Fed on baby food because she wasn’t able to tolerate some other, weight plummeted, broken heart and depressed, went for clinical psychological assessments in children hospital but couldn’t continue due to severe illness, continuously neglected by her GP, and finally declared ‘high risk’ patient, Alina Sarag was just 15 years old innocent girl coping bravely with all these situations. She was suffering from Tuberculosis but unfortunately diagnosed when it was too late. It is observed that her GP, Dr. Sharad Shripadrao Pandit, didn’t attend her professionally, her parents called him up for over 50 times to intimate him about the miserable condition of their daughter, but GP, Dr. Pandit, didn’t responded. Shockingly, he even claimed her symptoms were brought on because she was ‘lovesick’. Her distraught father, Sultan Sarag, 43, broke down as he told Birmingham Coroner’s Court, “The doctor said to her ‘Did you meet someone on holiday? Are you missing him?’” She found it very distressing he [GP] was suggesting she was lovesick for a boy. He said all the problems were in her head and she should see a psychiatrist or spiritual healer, when he said that in front of her it totally broke her heart.” Sultan Sarag added.
Tuberculosis is not such a disease that can’t be treated or diagnosed easily in the current era. Alina first contracted TB in 2009 after a girl at her school was diagnosed with the illness. She was prescribed a course of antibiotics at Birmingham Chest Clinic but medical staff never followed up her treatment. Alina was struck down again in July 2010 after returning from a trip to Pakistan with her family. A victim of medical negligence, Alina Sarag was rushed to hospital on January 6, 2011 after suffering breathing difficulties and she died of a cardiac arrest, at the age of 15. After her death, a clinical review revealed that doctors missed repeated opportunities to diagnose her condition.
