Bengal Saline Incident: Suvendu Adhikari Appeals to Governor
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Synopsis
Suvendu Adhikari, the Leader of the Opposition in West Bengal, met Governor C.V. Ananda Bose to address the tragic deaths linked to expired Ringer's Lactate. The BJP delegation raised concerns about the supplier's continued operation, requested compensation for victims' families, and called for public accountability.
Key Takeaways
- Governor's intervention sought by Suvendu Adhikari.
- Call for state government report on supplier accountability.
- Demand for compensation for victims' families.
- Press conference claims negligence by attending doctors.
- Investigations launched into expired saline incidents.
Kolkata, Jan 24 (NationPress) A BJP team, led by the Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, convened with Governor C.V. Ananda Bose on Friday to urge his intervention regarding the recent fatalities of a woman and her newborn at a state-operated medical college and hospital in West Midnapore district, allegedly due to the administration of expired Ringer's Lactate solution.
Following the meeting, Adhikari stated that the delegation presented three critical points to the Governor.
The first point was to demand a report from the state government explaining how Paschim Banga Pharmaceuticals Limited, the supplier of Ringer’s Lactate, was allowed to continue providing essential medical fluids despite being blacklisted first by the Karnataka Government and then by the West Bengal government.
“Secondly, we requested the Governor to ensure that the state government compensates the families of the two deceased individuals,” Adhikari remarked.
Lastly, Adhikari indicated that the delegation urged the Governor to make a public statement articulating his position on the issue.
Earlier that day, the Leader of the Opposition participated in a protest rally in Kolkata organized by members of civil society.
During the rally, Adhikari called for the immediate arrest and investigation of the state health minister and the state health secretary regarding the case. Notably, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee oversees the state health department, while the health secretary is Narayan Swarup Nigam.
This month, five women reportedly fell ill at the hospital after receiving expired Ringer’s Lactate.
Initially, Mamoni Ruidas, one of the affected women, passed away, followed by the newborn of Rekha Shaw, another victim.
As public outrage grew over the expired Ringer’s Lactate supplied by Paschim Banga Pharmaceuticals Private Limited, Chief Minister Banerjee stated in a press conference that the negligence of the attending doctors was responsible for the incidents and announced their suspension.
During the same press conference, she gave a virtual clean chit to the supplier, asserting that had the problem been widespread, similar incidents would have emerged from other state-run hospitals using Ringer’s Lactate from the same supplier.
She also initiated a concurrent investigation by the CID in addition to the ongoing inquiry by a team of clinical experts from the state health department.
However, a recent report from the clinical experts did not dismiss the potential adverse effects of injecting essential liquids like Ringer’s Lactate and oxytocin as a cause of the incidents.
The committee recommended that the batches of Ringer’s Lactate and oxytocin undergo further detailed clinical evaluation. Additionally, they suggested refraining from using clinical liquids from the same batch until the report is available.
