Koraput: At least six patients admitted at Saheed Laxman Naik Medical College and Hospital (SLNMCH) here died after they were allegedly administered wrong injections Tuesday night.
Five of them died within 90 minutes of taking the jabs Tuesday night while another succumbed in the early hours of Wednesday. The deceased were identifi ed as Bhagaban Paraja, 38, of Badapindapadar village, Rukmini Pentia, 42, of Minaguda village, Jagannath Pujari, 29, of Dabuguda under Borigumma block, Shukra Majhi, 45, of Jagamguda under Semiliguda block, Phulmati Majhi of Koksara in Kalahandi district and Bati Khara of Machhra area in Koraput. While Phulmati, Shukra and Rukmini had been admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU), Bati, Jagannath and Bhagaban were undergoing treatment in the general wards of the hospital. Their families alleged that they were administered injections, following which they died.
After reports surfaced, two separate investigations were ordered into alleged negligence in the hospital, officials said. District Collector V Keerthi Vasan announced that a committee will be formed and the matter will be probed. SLNMCH’s superintendent Dr Susanta Kumar Sahu said that the state government has formed two DMET teams from Cuttack and Berhampur which will reach Koraput by night and probe the matter. The bereaved family members were provided Rs 10,000 financial assistance each from the district Red-Cross fund by the district administration in the presence of BDO Debashis Goud and Koraput Municipality Executive Officer Gyanajit Tripathy. “We have convened a meeting of all departmental heads. The patients who died Tuesday night were admitted to the hospital in a critical condition. Prima facie, the deaths seem not to have been caused by any wrong injection. However, we will inquire into the allegations,” SLNMCH’s superintendent Sahu said. Director of Medical Education and Training (DMET) Santosh Mishra also confirmed the development. Sahu said the patients in the ICU were in a serious condition and were administered the injection to control their dropping blood pressure. “We suspect they died due to bleeding and septicemia. The fourth patient was being treated for stage-4 cancer, and the fifth was an accident victim, who was referred from Jeypore,” Sahu said.
Meanwhile, the Opposition BJD and Congress demanded action against the erring officials and alleged collapse of the health service system in the state. Calling the death of patients at the medical college hospital as ‘murder’, Congress Legislature Party leader Rama Chandra Kadam demanded `25 lakh each as compensation for the families of the deceased.
