Overview

• Preliminary findings suggest staff negligence and delayed ambulance response prolonged critical treatment after Shubhanshu Joshi was shuffled through health centres lacking pediatric ICU capacity.
• The inquiry is examining shortages of pediatric specialists and ICU beds at primary and community health centres that forced referrals spanning over 180 kilometres.
• Shubhanshu’s mother says a requested 108 ambulance arrived more than two hours late despite urgent calls, worsening the child’s condition during transfers.
• State Congress leaders and the bereaved family have called for swift disciplinary measures and comprehensive reforms to prevent similar failures in rural healthcare.
• The government has pledged strict disciplinary action against any health staff found indifferent and faces growing pressure to address longstanding infrastructure deficits in the public health network.