TB girl ‘just lovesick’
A SCHOOLGIRL died of tuberculosis after her GP claimed she was “lovesick”, an inquest heard yesterday.
Alina Sarag, 15, was seen by five doctors at four hospitals but the curable disease went undetected.
Her parents called the GP more than 50 times about her health before her death in January last year.
The inquest heard that her GP, Dr Sharad Shripadrao Pandit, accused her family of “mollycoddling” her. He even said her symptoms were brought on because she was “lovesick”.
Her 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 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.”
He said Dr Pandit refused to test his daughter for TB, adding: “He said: ‘We don’t need these tests, we are not going to get them done either’.”
The doctor said to her ‘Did you meet someone on holiday? Are you missing him?’ She found it very distressing he was suggesting she was lovesick for a boy
Mr Sarag – who is also being treated for TB – said his daughter vomited up to 10 times a day and had to be carried to bed “like an old woman”.
He claimed he repeatedly called Dr Pandit’s Birmingham surgery but he failed to respond.
Mr Sarag said: “There was mass neglect. The medical profession, as soon as they mess up, they hide.”
The inquest continues.