Stop use of 10 fluids, including ringer’s lactate infusion, state asks govt hosps

Kolkata: The state Health department on Saturday issued an order asking all government hospitals to stop using 10 fluids, including ringer’s lactate infusion, for the safety of patients in the wake of the death of a 21-year-old woman who gave birth to a child at Midnapore Medical College and died at the hospital on Friday after allegedly being administered “expired” saline.

On instructions of CM Mamata Banerjee, who also heads the Health department, Chief Secretary Manoj Pant has sought a detailed report on the incident from the Principal Secretary, Health, by Sunday night.

The detailed list of the fluids have been circulated among all health establishments in the state.Meanwhile, the 13-member team that has been constituted by the Health department to probe the incident visited Midnapore Medical College on Saturday and sought individual written opinions from the doctors on the incident.

The team also spoke with three of the four patients, who were administered the same saline at the hospital and subsequently fell ill. Members could not speak to one of them, Nasreen Khatun, as her condition is extremely critical and has been put on ventilator support since Friday.

“The treatment that is presently being offered to these four patients is going in the right direction,” said a member of the committee.

The 13-member committee later held a meeting at Midnapore circuit house with the District Magistrate and Chief Medical Officer (CMO) in the presence of other concerned officials. According to sources in the Health department, the committee will also probe whether the incident happened due to the negligence of any doctor/doctors in the hospital.

The ringer’s lactate saline supplied by a Siliguri-based pharma company has come under the scanner of the Health department following the incident. The state Drug Control on December 10 had blacklisted the company. “It will be examined whether the infusion administered was procured after the blacklisting or it was in stock earlier. If it was in stock, it should have been exhausted,” a Health department official said.