CID team visits Midnapore Medical College and Hospital, begins investigation

Kolkata: After the state government ordered a CID probe into the Midnapore Medical College and Hospital (MMCH) incident in which one woman died and four others undergoing treatment in serious condition after allegedly being administered “expired” saline, a team of CID, headed by a DSP rank officer on Tuesday visited the hospital and carried out investigation.

On a parallel development, Midnapore Medical College on Tuesday published a notification barring the post graduate trainee (PGT) or junior resident doctors from carrying out surgical and anaesthetic procedures. If they do so, it will be treated as a punishable offence. The notification said that the surgical procedures in various departments must be carried out by the faculty doctors or bed in-charge with MD/MS degree. “As per the directive of the Health department, no surgical and anaesthetic procedure should be done by PGTs.

All Faculty of Anaesthesiology, OBS and Gynecology, General Surgery, Orthopedics, Ophthalmology and ENT departments are hereby directed that all surgical procedures must be done by the Faculty/Bed incharge, SR with MD/MS degree. Surgical procedure not to be done by PGTs/JR by themselves. If PGTs perform OT by themselves then it will be treated as a punishable offence.

In such cases, disciplinary action will be taken,” reads the notification. Meanwhile, the CID team on Tuesday interrogated some junior doctors, nursing personnel and two senior doctors, besides

others at the hospital.

The Head of the department of gynecology was also interrogated, it was learnt. The CID team also spoke to the superintendent of the MMCH, Jayanta Routh at the latter’s office. The CID officers also collected several documents from the hospital for example duty rosters, logbooks etc. During a meeting in Nabanna, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday made it clear that no negligence will be tolerated and nobody will be spared if found guilty.

Chief Secretary Manoj Pant after holding a meeting with Health Secretary Narayan Swaroop Nigam admitted that there might be negligence that could have led to

such an incident.

The preliminary report filed by the 13-member expert committee by the Health department indicated that “human error” and side effects of some “other medicines” could have led to the death of a woman and three others falling critically ill after giving birth to their children. Meanwhile, the health condition of one of the five infants was stated to be

serious. The infant has been kept in NICU under

observation at the MMCH.