RANCHI: Taking serious note of the alleged negligence by health officials after five children contracted HIV from transfused infected blood at Sadar Hospital in Jharkhand’s West Singhbhum district, Chief Minister Hemant Soren has ordered the suspension of the Civil Surgeon and other officials found responsible for the lapse.
The Chief Minister also announced financial assistance of Rs 2 lakh to each of the affected families, along with free treatment for the children suffering from the infection.
“Following reports of HIV-infected blood being transfused to children suffering from Thalassemia in Chaibasa, instructions have been given to suspend the West Singhbhum Civil Surgeon and other concerned officials,” Hemant Soren said in a post on X.
The alleged medical negligence came to light when a seven-year-old thalassemia patient tested positive for HIV on October 18, weeks after being transfused with infected blood in early September. The child's family lodged a complaint with the Deputy Commissioner and the state authorities.
The Jharkhand High Court took suo motu cognisance of the matter and ordered an investigation on Friday. The following day, a five-member team from Ranchi visited Chaibasa and conducted an inquiry at Sadar Hospital.
The team included Director of Health Services Dr Dinesh Kumar, Dr Shipra Das, Dr S. S. Paswan, Dr Bhagat, and Chaibasa Civil Surgeon Dr Sushanto Kumar Manjhi, along with Dr Shivcharan Hansda and Dr Meenu Kumari. The team inspected the hospital's blood bank and the PICU ward, and gathered detailed information from the families of the affected children.
During the investigation, it was discovered that four more children had allegedly tested positive for HIV. Two of these children are still admitted to the PICU ward of Sadar Hospital.
Following the investigation, Dr Dinesh Kumar, informed that efforts are underway to determine the source of the infection.
"The source of infection is being investigated. Hospital administration has been directed to get blood tests of the children done,” said Kumar.
"There could be two reasons for the children getting infected with HIV — either infected blood was transfused to them or the infection came into their bodies from outside sources, which is being investigated,” he added.
According to Dr Kumar, there are a total of 515 HIV-infected patients in the district and 56 patients suffering from Thalassemia. He said that a complete report will be submitted to the department.
Meanwhile, the medical team discovered several deficiencies and serious irregularities during their inspection of the blood bank and laboratory. Dr Kumar said that they have been given a week to rectify the deficiencies in the blood bank and laboratory. In the meantime, the blood bank will operate only as an emergency facility for two to three days.
