HYDERABAD: Is there an effort to “sabotage” the image of the State health department? Officials at the Gandhi General Hospital think so.
After a series of issues that rocked the health department, officials are now mulling a police investigation into the Saturday’s incident at Gandhi General Hospital that has left the department red-faced.
In an unusual turn, officials of the health department now want to lodge a complaint with police over such an incident.
Officials in the department believe that the expired drugs being allegedly administered to children could be a purposeful act by some malicious people. Sources said that orders were issued to lodge a complaint with the police to learn more about the issue.
“It might be lodged after inquiry into the issue is completed,” sources said. The statement ‘we want to know who did this’ was heard from doctors and officials in the department. Chilkalguda Police inspector K Srinivasulu said that no complaint had been lodged with them till Sunday night. However, police collected preliminary information on the medicines which were administered to the children and vials submitted by a person who alleged that expired drugs were administered.
Previous incidents
In December, father of a patient Sai Pravalika alleged that saline contaminated with “foreign body” was administered to his daughter. The father Bikshapathy alleged that he found an insect in the saline bottle administered to the child. However, officials from the department denied it.
Surprisingly, the department had alleged a sabotage in this case as well. The officials expressed concern with the incident on Sunday. Especially, since government hospitals in the State and Health minister C Laxma Reddy have had a host of issues to deal with in March.
In the recent past, ward boys have demanded money from a patient at Government General and Chest Hospital. A patient was forced to use a toy tricycle in Gandhi Hospital as he could not afford to pay the bribes demanded by the hospital staff. Since the Assembly was in session the matter is likely to be debated on Monday.
The department is on tenterhooks. Every time an issue breaks out, entire department goes into damage control mode. Meanwhile, Dr P Shravan Kumar has been appointed as the new superintendent of Gandhi Hospital.