
KOLKATA: Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday said 12 doctors including the medical superintendent and six postgraduate trainee doctors of Midnapore Medical College and Hospital suspended for clear cases of medical negligence.
The CID has been asked to investigate the 12 doctors who were suspended by the state health department.
According to the chief minister, it was the negligence of the junior doctors that led to the death of a pregnant woman who was administered spurious saline from West Bengal pharmaceuticals.
The firm has already been blacklisted by the state government.
Senior health officials claimed that, according to the investigation, it was found that on the day of the surgery of the pregnant woman, a senior doctor went to a private nursing home for his practice instead of looking at the patient who had been shifted to the ICU.
The state government has provided Rs 5 lakh for the deceased victim’s relatives as compensation.
Meanwhile, a division bench of the Calcutta High Court, led by Chief Justice T S Sivagnanam and Justice Hiranmay Bhattacharya, on Tuesday instructed not to use saline of Paschim Banga Pharmaceuticals Limited that was administered to the pregnant woman who died a few hours after administering saline.
The bench heard two public interest litigations (PILs) concerning the controversy over the use of banned Ringer’s Lactate saline at Midnapore Medical College and Hospital.
A woman died on January 10 after childbirth, and several others fell critically ill, allegedly due to receiving the banned saline. The incident sparked political outrage, with opposition questioning the use of saline from a company, named Paschim Banga Pharmaceuticals Limited which was blacklisted in December last year.
The court directed the West Bengal Health and Family Welfare Department and Chief Secretary Manoj Pant to submit detailed reports on the issue. The division bench also instructed the state government to compensate the victim families.
It also asked the central government to provide an ‘action taken report’ outlining measures taken against the saline manufacturer, Paschim Banga Pharmaceuticals Limited.
The reports have to be filed within two weeks, the court instructed while hearing the two PILs, filed by senior advocate Phiroze Edulji and advocate-cum-BJP leader Koustav Bagchi. The Chief Justice-led division bench has listed the matter for the next hearing on January 30.
West Bengal’s Advocate General (AG) Kishore Datta informed the court that a 13-member expert committee has been formed to investigate the incident. Additionally, a CID probe has been launched to examine the matter further.
In response to Chief Justice Sivagnanam's inquiry, AG Datta stated that 30,000 bottles of saline were delivered in three batches to most state government-run medical facilities. Hospitals have been instructed not to use the saline.
Samples have also been sent to laboratories within the state and the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL) in Mumbai for testing, he added.
Senior advocate Edulji alleged in the court that several years ago, a doctor in North Bengal raised concerns about the saline, but instead of addressing the issue, the state government took action against the doctor.