Women patients fall sick in Bengal hospital after injection

Kolkata (The Uttam Hindu):  Several postpartum women in Burdwan Medical College and Hospital in the East Burdwan district of West Bengal fell sick on Monday night after allegedly being administered the wrong injection.

However, no casualty had been reported at the time the report was filed.

The hospital authorities claimed on Tuesday morning that all the postpartum women are out of crisis now.

Meanwhile, confusion has surfaced over the exact number of postpartum women falling sick on Monday night. While officially the principal of Burdwan Medical College, Mousumi Bandopadhyay, had said the figure was seven, some family members of the patients falling sick claimed that the number would not be less than 10.

Bandopadhyay had claimed that the complications were because of some allergic problems after being administered with the injection, although all are out of crisis currently.

The family members of the postpartum women falling sick claimed that these mothers were quite healthy and fine even after their deliveries. “But complications started soon after they were administered with three injections one after another. They had a fever and were shivering. Either they were administered the wrong injections or they were injected on empty stomachs which led to the complication,” alleged a family member of such a postpartum woman.

Recently, in another state-run medical college and hospital in Kolkata in the West Midnapore district, seven women had fallen sick after they were allegedly administered with expired Ringers’ Lactate. One postpartum woman died in that incident, while six others recovered after some time after being in critical condition for a few days.

However, the state government denied the charges and instead blamed some of the doctors of the said hospital, accusing them of negligence in treating those postpartum women. Even 10 doctors attached to the said hospital were also suspended. However, their suspensions were revoked last month.