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Probe ordered into post-surgery blindings Sunday, July 29, 2001

BY A HEALTH CORRESPONDENT, THE TIMES OF INDIA NEWS SERVICE
AHMEDABAD: Health minister Suresh Mehta on Friday said the government had appointed a four-member inquiry committee to probe into the Sadvichar Parivar Eye Hospital tragedy where 22 people turned blind in one eye after undergoing cataract surgery.

Mehta announced that a committee, including a pathologist, a microbiologist, a drug commissioner and an additional director of health, would inquire into the tragedy where 33 people stand to lose vision in the eye which was operated for cataract, and got severely infected.


All 22 patients, who have contracted severe sceptecimia and have lost vision in the operated eye, remained admitted in the Sadvichar Hospital in Naroda-GIDC where doctors were investigating into the future course of treatment to be followed. The government has also directed the hospital to send teams and follow up the remaining 11 patients who had got operated along with the 22 patients, and investigate the extent of damage to their eye after the surgery. "The teams have brought two such patients to the hospital from their residences," a patient's relative said.


Significantly, the patients' relatives have alleged that the trustees of the hospital were pressurising them not to file any complaint against the hospital. "Naroda MLA Maya Kodnani had visited the patients on Friday and agreed that we should file a complaint. But the trustees of the hospital have been putting pressure on us not to make any such complaint at present. They are all camping at the hospital," said Jagdish Goswami, relative of another victim Laxmiben Goswami.


Meanwhile, food and drugs commissioner A D Adeshra said following preliminary inspection of the IV sets manufactured by Max Medi Care which were confiscated at Sadvichar hospital, inspection was carried at the manufacturing site where certain lacunae were detected in the manufacturing of the sets. "We detected certain lacunae in the Good Manufacturing Practise (GMP) being practised by the company which did not conform to the statutory provisions laid down under the Drug and Cosmetics Act. Following this, we have stalled the manufacturing of the IV sets by the company with immediate effect," Adeshra said.


Adeshra further said that since Wokhardt company _ whose product RL Eye Irrigating Solution was used during the surgeries and was allegedly contaminated enough to cause infection in operated eyes _ was not Gujarat based, he has intimated the Drug Controller General (west zone) in Mumbai to pursue the inquiry.

News Source : Times Of India News Service [ Lightning News ]

 

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