Synopsis
A newborn girl born to one of five women who fell ill after allegedly receiving expired saline has tragically died in Kolkata's Midnipore Medical College and Hospital. The incident has raised serious concerns and prompted calls for an investigation involving central agencies.Key Takeaways
- Newborn dies after alleged administration of expired saline.
- Five women fell ill leading to one death previously.
- Investigation involves CID and calls for CBI intervention.
- Expired saline sourced from banned pharmaceutical company.
- State health department issues directives to halt usage of affected stock.
Kolkata, Jan 16 (NationPress) A newborn baby of one of the five women who fell ill last week at the state-run Midnipore Medical College and Hospital (MMCH) has tragically passed away on Thursday after allegedly being given expired Ringer’s Lactate.
Last week, Mamoni Ruidas, one of the five women, succumbed at the same hospital.
On Thursday, the newborn girl of Rekha Shaw, one of the surviving women, died at the state-run medical facility in Kolkata.
Three of the four women were transferred to the hospital as their conditions deteriorated.
The baby was placed under isolation and on ventilation shortly after birth in the same hospital.
“We only saw the baby once after birth, and since then she was isolated. Now we are informed that the baby has sadly passed away,” confirmed Rekha’s mother-in-law Pushpa Shaw.
On Wednesday, opposition leader in the West Bengal Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, called for the involvement of central agencies such as the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) in the ongoing investigation being conducted by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the West Bengal Police and a team from the state health department.
Last week, five women fell ill at the same state-run medical college and hospital in the West Midnapore district after allegedly being administered with expired Ringer’s Lactate. While Ruidas passed away last Friday, the other four women were treated in the critical care unit and intensive care units of the same facility. However, three of them later required transfer to the state-run S.S.K.M Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata due to severe deterioration in their health.
This incident has raised serious concerns, particularly as the expired RL saline reportedly came from Paschim Banga Pharmaceutical Limited, a company previously banned by both the Karnataka government and later by the West Bengal government.
Initially, the state health department ordered medical superintendents and chief medical officers across all districts to ensure a complete halt of the existing stock of Compound Sodium Lactate Injection (RL) supplied by Paschim Banga Pharmaceuticals Pvt Ltd.
Subsequently, the state government mandated the removal of all medications supplied by the same company from healthcare facilities across the state.
