Skip to main content

Lack of hygiene, "doubtful" quality of medicines behind 66 Madhya Pradesh patients losing eyesight

By Our Representative
A civil society investigation has blamed organizers of the eye surgery camp of criminal negligence, leading to the gruesome incident leading last month to the loss of eyesight of 66 patients belonging to Barwani and Dhar districts of Madhya Pradesh. The investigation team consisted of Rakesh Chandore, Dhara, Amulya Nidhi, and SR Azad of the Jan Swasthya Abhiyan; and Medha Patkar, Devisingh Tomar, Bhagirath Dhangar, and Rahul Yadav of the Narmada Bachao Andolan.
The cataract surgery camp was jointly organized by Barwani District Hospital and Lion’s Club, Barwani, between November 16 and 24. It was held under the District Blindness Control Programme, which is part of National Blindness Control Programme.
In all 86 patients from Sendhwa, Silawad, Dhanora, Warla, Chachria, Balwadi, Pansemal, Niwali, Piplaj, Ekkalwara, Kashta, and Dharamrai of Barwani and Dhar districta of Madhya Pradesh were operated upon at the camp.
Doubting the source of medicine, a report prepared by the team said, “Ringer’s lactate solution was used during surgeries, which is usually packaged in plastic bottles and have probability to catch fungus.”
“The patients were prescribed Moxicip Eye Drop (Moxifloxacin), batch number C850127 of Cipla, Zoxan D of FDC Ltd, Atropine Sulphate of Jawa Pharmacy, Biotin, Levofloxacin and Ibuprofen at discharge”, the report said, pointing out that there is no clear answer as to from where “these medicines were sourced from – centrally from Bhopal or locally at Barwani.”
“The government investigation team has not disclosed batch numbers, quality test reports, company names, and procurement detail of drugs, injections and fluids used”, the report said.
Pointing towards negligence, the report said, on the second and third day of the surgery itself, the patients began approaching rural healthcare centres with complaints of burning sensation and pain in the eyes. Some reached the District Hospital, while a few others went to private hospitals. Though they were given some medicines, they got “no relief.”
“On November 18-19, similar multiple complaints of pain, itching and watering eyes started pouring in; despite that, surgeries of new patients continued”, the report said, underlining, “It is beyond comprehension why fresh surgeries were continued even after knowing that things were amiss and earlier patients had caught severe infections.”
When the complaints became acute and widespread, most patients were asked to reach the District Hospital, which – finding things getting complicated – referred to them to Sri Aurobindo Institute of Medical Science (SAIMS), Indore.
Objecting to this, the report said, this was done despite the fact that, under government rules, in case of emergency, patients should be referred from the District Hospital to the Maharja Yashwant Rao Hospital, Indore, attached with the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Medical College, Indore, which has enough specialists.
“What is unclear is on what basis and on whose orders were they sent to SAIMS”, the report said, adding, “It is mentionable that SAIMS has been in the mid of controversy earlier. Around three years back, the state government had attempted privatization and wanted to shift the MYH Hospital to SAIMS under a public-private partnership (PPP) model in the guise of knowledge partnership.”
“At the time of referral to Indore, only few patients had already lost their eyesight”, the report said, adding, “After getting admitted to SAIMS, patients underwent repeated eye surgeries. Of 86 patients, 66 patients lost sight of one eye completely”, the report underlined.
The report noted, “Hygiene of operation theatre was compromised. It needs to be enquired whether separate sets of gloves, instruments and materials were used for each patient.”

Comments

TRENDING

Insider plot to kill Deendayal Upadhyay? What RSS pracharak Balraj Madhok said

By Shamsul Islam*  Balraj Madhok's died on May 2, 2016 ending an era of old guards of Hindutva politics. A senior RSS pracharak till his death was paid handsome tributes by the RSS leaders including PM Modi, himself a senior pracharak, for being a "stalwart leader of Jan Sangh. Balraj Madhok ji's ideological commitment was strong and clarity of thought immense. He was selflessly devoted to the nation and society. I had the good fortune of interacting with Balraj Madhok ji on many occasions". The RSS also issued a formal condolence message signed by the Supremo Mohan Bhagwat on behalf of all swayamsevaks, referring to his contribution of commitment to nation and society. He was a leading RSS pracharak on whom his organization relied for initiating prominent Hindutva projects. But today nobody in the RSS-BJP top hierarchy remembers/talks about Madhok as he was an insider chronicler of the immense degeneration which was spreading as an epidemic in the high echelons of th

Central pollution watchdog sees red in Union ministry labelling waste to energy green

By Chythenyen Devika Kulasekaran*  “Destructors”, “incinerators” and “waste-to-energy (WTE) incineration” all mean the same thing – indiscriminate burning of garbage! Having a history of about one and a half centuries, WTE incinerators have seen several reboots over the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries. 

First-of-its-kind? 'Eco-friendly, low cost' sewage treatment system installed in Gujarat

Counterview Desk Following the installation of the Unconventional Decentralized Multi-Stage Reactor (UDMSR) for sewage treatment, a note on what is claimed to be the  first-of-its-kind technology said, the treated sewage from this system “can be directly utilized for agricultural purposes”, even as proving to be a “saviour in the times of water crisis.”

A Hindu alternative to Valentine's Day? 'Shiv-Parvati was first love marriage in Universe'

By Rajiv Shah*   The other day, I was searching on Google a quote on Maha Shivratri which I wanted to send to someone, a confirmed Shiv Bhakt, quite close to me -- with an underlying message to act positively instead of being negative. On top of the search, I chanced upon an article in, imagine!, a Nashik Corporation site which offered me something very unusual. 

Indo-Bangla border: Farmers facing 'illegal obstacles' in harvesting, transporting yields

  Counterview Desk  In a representation to the chairperson, National Human Rights Commission, human rights defender Kirity Roy, who is secretary, Banglar Manabadhikar Suraksha Mancha (MASUM), has said that Border Security Force (BSF) personnel are creating "illegal obstacles" for farmers seeking to harvest their ripened yields and transport them to the market in village Jhaukuthi of Cooch Behar district.

'Flawed' argument: Gandhi had minimal role, naval mutinies alone led to Independence

Counterview Desk Reacting to a Counterview  story , "Rewiring history? Bose, not Gandhi, was real Father of Nation: British PM Attlee 'cited'" (January 26, 2016), an avid reader has forwarded  reaction  in the form of a  link , which carries the article "Did Atlee say Gandhi had minimal role in Independence? #FactCheck", published in the site satyagrahis.in. The satyagraha.in article seeks to debunk the view, reported in the Counterview story, taken by retired army officer GD Bakshi in his book, “Bose: An Indian Samurai”, which claims that Gandhiji had a minimal role to play in India's freedom struggle, and that it was Netaji who played the crucial role. We reproduce the satyagraha.in article here. Text: Nowadays it is said by many MK Gandhi critics that Clement Atlee made a statement in which he said Gandhi has ‘minimal’ role in India's independence and gave credit to naval mutinies and with this statement, they concluded the whole freedom struggle.

Wasteland, a colonial legacy, being used to 'give away' vast tracts to Ratnagiri refinery

By Fouziya Tehzeeb* William D’Souza, a 55-year old farmer from Kuthethur, Mangalore, was busy mixing cattle feed when we arrived at his doorsteps. Around 25 km from the bustling city of Mangalore, Kuthethur is a lush green village with thick vegetation. On the way to William’s house the idyllic view gets blocked by the flares and smoke arising from the Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited (MRPL).

CAA disregards India's inclusive plural ethos, 'betrays' ideals of freedom struggle: PUCL

Counterview Desk    "Outraged" at the move of the Central government to implement the Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019 (CAA 2019) weeks before the election, the top rights group, People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), has demanded that the law be repealed. 

Buddhist shrines were 'massively destroyed' by Brahmanical rulers: Historian DN Jha

Nalanda mahavihara By Our Representative Prominent historian DN Jha, an expert in India's ancient and medieval past, in his new book , "Against the Grain: Notes on Identity, Intolerance and History", in a sharp critique of "Hindutva ideologues", who look at the ancient period of Indian history as "a golden age marked by social harmony, devoid of any religious violence", has said, "Demolition and desecration of rival religious establishments, and the appropriation of their idols, was not uncommon in India before the advent of Islam".

Invincible, Modi 'taller' than BJP, RSS: An opportunity for Congress beyond 2024?

By NS Venkataraman*  With the announcement of poll schedule for the 2024 parliamentary election, there is palpable excitement and expectation amongst the countrymen  about the shape of things to happen in India after the  results of the election would be announced. There is also speculation abroad about the future course of developments in India.