BHOPAL: A 19-month-old toddler has lost eyesight, allegedly after cough medicine was wrongfully administer in his eyes at a government hospital in Sagar district of Madhya Pradesh’s Bundelkhand region.
On May 29, Indraj Vishwakarma, resident of Bhusa Kamalpur village, brought his infant son Vinay to the Banda Civil Hospital, for treatment of cough, cold, and redness in eyes.
The family registered at the Outdoor Patients Department (OPD) of the Banda Civil Hospital, obtained an OPD slip, after which the on-duty paediatrician Dr Himanshu Verma, had reportedly examined the infant. The doctor prescribed eye drops, paracetamol syrup, an injection and a medicine (possibly drops) for clearing phlegm.
Father Indraj alleges that drops meant for clearing phlegm were administered in his son’s eyes by the on-duty staff, resulting in loss of eyesight.
With the child’s condition becoming serious, he was referred by doctors to the Sagar District Hospital, from where doctors after examining the toddler, advised the family to take him to an advanced tertiary medical care institution.
The family travelled 225 km to the MP capital to get their son examined and treated by ophthalmologists at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS-Bhopal).
After examining the child, the experts at AIIMS-Bhopal told the family that Vinay had lost his eyesight completely, due to wrong medication, alleged the child’s father.
While Indraj has submitted a complaint to the local police, alleging that medical negligence caused the loss of his son’s eyesight, the Sagar district’s chief medical and health officer (CMHO) has constituted a three-member probe panel in the matter.
“My son’s life has been destroyed. He was taken to hospital for treatment of cough, cold and redness in the eyes. Now he will never be able to see. Medical negligence has taken his eyesight,” father Indraj alleged in the complaint submitted to the local police in Sagar district.
Meanwhile, the state health department through the Sagar district’s chief medical and health officer (CMHO) Dr GP Arya has constituted a three-member inquiry committee and the probe panel has been directed to submit the report within a week.
“The inquiry will examine what medicine was prescribed, what was actually administered, and whether any negligence occurred. Strict action will be initiated if medical negligence is established,” Dr Arya said.
This isn’t the first instance of alleged medical negligence at a government health facility in Sagar district.
A few days back, a patient, Devendra Pathak, died during treatment at the Bundelkhand Medical College. His family alleged that his condition deteriorated due to an overdose of anaesthesia and that timely treatment was not provided after his condition became critical.
The deputy CM and state’s health and medical education minister Rajendra Shukla is the in-charge minister of Sagar district. An inquiry is underway into the matter.