Why medical negligence continues to destroy families, and why a permanent solution still looks distant
“Aisey Quality and Safety System Ko Main Nahi Janta — Main Nahi Manta…”
Dr. Fiaz Maqbool Fazili
The death of a child is an agony words can barely hold, but the death of a child due to medical negligence is a wound that never heals. It is not just a tragedy — it is a betrayal of a sacred oath, do no harm — an injustice that shakes faith in humanity, institutions, professionals, and the very systems meant to protect life. Little Ahmad’s case is one more heartbreaking reminder of how fragile the promise of care has become in our healthcare system. What happened to him first at a private hospital and later at a state-run emergency is not an “error.” It is not an “unfortunate incident.” It is a collapse of ethics, professional competence, morality, and duty consciousness at every level.
To me, as a clinical auditor and to anyone honest enough to examine the sequence of events as shared by the shattered, disappointed mother pending final conclusions by the official inquiry committee, it appears as medical negligence. The apathy, the delays, the lack of professional judgment, the non-compliance or absence of proper ED triage, the refusal to follow evidence-based basic clinical protocols and algorithmic approach all of it forms a brutal, undeniable chain of failure. What this family went through is not unfamiliar to those who have stood helplessly outside emergency rooms of our hospitals (teaching or non-teaching), begging for attention, pleading for care, watching their loved ones slip away because someone in a position of authority or assigned duty did not act when they should have. Many of us have suffered this pain; some have buried loved ones because the system refused to protect them. Losing little Ahmad in such heart-wrenching circumstances is beyond tragic it is a moral crime.
Pending final confirmation of the sequence of events by the designated inquiry committee, the netizens’ response — believing the story as it is available on social and digital media suggests that the alleged negligence occurring at places of hope signals a deeper crisis. The private hospital’s failure to provide necessary accurate information, delayed initial assessment, stabilisation, and immediate management reflects a severe breach of duty. At the state-run hospital, the emergency response which should have been swift, structured, highly professional, and guided by evidence-based clinical protocols instead became a chaotic, uncoordinated scramble that cost precious time and life. These failures are not random; they are symptoms of a system and a failure of structures and processes we inherited due to past non-visionary healthcare leadership and governance models that have normalised unaccountability.
A system in which inquiries often appear superficial, giving rise to accusations that findings are buried, not shared with the public, and the real truth diluted by rumours until no one remains responsible for anything. A system where many practitioners continue working despite repeated complaints, and institutions hide behind committees instead of confronting misconduct honestly.
Medical negligence keeps recurring because the system allows it. Hospitals conduct inquiries, but the findings rarely see the light of day. Licences are seldom suspended. Contracts are terminated quietly but without any lasting consequence. The same individuals resurface in other institutions, carrying the same attitudes, the same carelessness, the same disregard for human life. Families are encouraged to “settle,” and some do take compensation, blood money out of exhaustion, pressure, or because they are made to believe that justice is impossible. Others try to fight, but the legal system, especially after recent Supreme Court interpretations of 304-A, makes it extraordinarily difficult to prove criminal negligence. The criteria for interim orders in consumer forums have become equally demanding.
Where, then, does a grieving family go? How many battles must they fight? How many doors must they knock? And why must they suffer delays, intimidation, and silence from institutions that should be protecting them?
Despite these obstacles, one truth must stand: all hope is not lost. The Honourable Supreme Court’s stringent rulings do not prevent justice; they demand stronger, non-frivolous cases. And that is precisely what must happen here. The victim’s family must build a watertight case supported by medical records, expert opinions, timelines, healthcare standards (norms), and legal scrutiny of every step taken. Even if we argue that criminal prosecution under 304-A is complex, it is not impossible or totally discouraging. The Medical Council whether J&K or National can and must be approached. They still hold the authority to examine misconduct, punish errant doctors (only if proved negligent), and suspend or cancel licences temporarily or permanently depending on the magnitude of harm. Hospitals’ jurisdiction may be limited to terminating contracts or initiating internal actions, but other regulatory bodies exist to ensure long-term accountability.
But justice is not only about punishing individuals. It is about exposing systemic gaps and failures through professional RCA (root cause analysis) to learn and to rectify systems with utmost safety by PDCA Plan, Do, Check, Act so that other families do not bury their children because of preventable errors. For that, inquiry findings must always be transparent, truthful, unbiased, professionally driven, and public. Institutions must not bury truth behind confidentiality or administrative shielding. Transparency is the first step toward reform. Accountability is the second. And the courage of families who refuse to be silenced or bought off is essential until total justice is visible and ensured.
“Aisey Quality safety system Ko Main Nahi Janta Main Nahi Manta…” As an expert on risk management, quality, and patient safety: “I do not make compromises nor recognise such a non-accredited system which, on one side, makes tall claims of advancement, modernisation, adherence to standards, and progress — while on hospital safety, it is a system where the dawn’s light fades for those victims of medical negligence who are forced to run from pillar to post in search of justice,” says Dr. S (name withheld), a patient-family rights advocate from the USA.
A grave problem in our emotion-driven society is that after the initial outrage the social media storm, the anger, the protests many families eventually compromise. Some take compensation. Some are pressured. Some lose the strength to continue. And with that compromise, the truth is buried alongside the child, and the system moves on without learning anything. This reflects my decades-long, painful, disappointing experience as an advocate for patient-family rights raising concerns and, in some cases, becoming involved in the legal process.
When families give up, the pattern repeats. Hospitals escape scrutiny. Negligent individuals continue working. Procedures remain unchanged. And the next tragedy becomes inevitable.
This time, the cycle must break.
A campaign a tragic story viral on social media initiated by the bereaved mother — #JusticeForAhmad must rise not only as an emotional reaction but as a determined, sustained campaign for zero tolerance for negligence. Not to attack institutions, but to reform them as safe havens for patients. Not to punish blindly, but to demand truth transparently. Not to politicise tragedy, but to humanise a broken system. Ahmad’s story should not end with condolences; it should ignite a reform that transforms emergency care, accountability mechanisms, and patient rights in Kashmir.
Permanent solutions are possible hope is power but they require individual and collective will. They require institutions to stop hiding behind committees and start confronting reality. They require medical councils to rebuild public trust by acting decisively. They require administrators to prioritise patient safety over institutional image. They require doctors to understand that negligence is not a mistake it is a violation of the sacred trust of life and a punishable offence. And they require families to refuse silence.
Ahmad’s family now carries a burden no parent should ever bear. Their pain is immeasurable, their loss irreversible. No compensation, no apology, no disciplinary action can bring their child back. But justice real, transparent justice can give meaning to their fight. It can prevent another child from dying the way Ahmad did. It can force a system drowning in its own complacency to rise and reform.
May Allah grant this family sabr-e-jameel and ease their hearts. May He grant them strength to fight. May He grant them ni‘mat-ul-badal in ways only He knows. And may this tragedy shake our collective conscience hard enough that no more children are lost to negligence disguised as healthcare.
Justice is not just a hashtag. It is a demand for truth, accountability, and change — a demand that must not fade, must not be silenced, and must not be compromised.
