Koraput: Odisha’s Health and Family Welfare Minister Mukesh Mahaling Thursday visited the hospital in Koraput district, where six patients died in quick succession, allegedly after being administered wrong injections and said action will be taken if there is negligence.
Accompanied by the district collector, Mahaling held discussions with the Saheed Laxman Nayak Medical College and Hospital (SLNMCH) and inquired how the six patients died within hours between Tuesday night and early Wednesday morning.
“I sought a clear explanation from the medical college hospital authorities on what happened for which the patients died. Patient safety is the top priority, and any negligence will result in strict action,” Mahaling told reporters after the visit.
In an X post, the minister said that during the visit to the hospital, he inquired about the health condition of the patients.
Five patients died between 10pm and 11pm Tuesday, while the sixth one succumbed at 3:33 am Wednesday.
While the hospital authorities ordered a departmental inquiry, Director of Medical Education and Training (DMET) Santosh Mishra also initiated a separate probe into the allegations at the state-run hospital by an expert team comprising senior doctors from two other medical facilities.
The expert team has already begun its inquiry and talked to various people, including patients.
The minister said the high-level expert committee will submit its reports within the stipulated time.
The SLNMCH authorities rejected the allegations of negligence and wrong injection as the cause of the death.
Congress leader and former MLA Nimai Sarkar alleged that the minister did not meet the patients in ICU where four patients died.
There was a scuffle between Congress workers and the police when the minister reached the SLNMCH.
“The government is responsible for the death of the six patients at the hospital. It is not a natural or accidental death, but murder. This should not be repeated,” Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Rama Chandra Kadam, who hails from Koraput district, said.
Apart from the minister, Koraput MLA Raghuram Macha and Kotpad MLA Rupu Bhatra also visited the hospital.
PTI
