Patients given expired drugs at govt hospital

A casual visit to the government hospital at KR Puram on Tuesday morning left the Bengaluru Urban deputy commissioner B M Vijay Shankar shell shocked!

Reflecting grimly on the city hospitals’ preparedness to address any possibility of a disease outbreak, the hospital was found to be in a mess with expired drugs administered to patients, doctors remaining absent from work and officials being cavalier at work.

Upon entering the hospital, the deputy commissioner randomly checked outpatients and verified the medicines only to discover that all of them had expired several months ago. The officer was taken aback when he found the same was given to patients admitted at the hospital.

As the junior staff informed him the medical superintendent had gone to zilla parishat for a meeting, Vijay Shankar called up ZP office only to realise there was no such meeting involving the medical superintendent.

“I have directed the officials to issue a notice seeking answers from the doctors and will recommend stringent action against the doctors to the state government. Many life-saving drugs were expired and the same were distributed to the patients from the pharma. We have seized all of them,” Vijay Shankar said.

Antibiotics like azithromycin tablets and amoxicillin oral suspension drops for pediatric use were among the major drugs that had expired. Several boxes of such drugs were seized immediately.

Before visiting the hospital, the deputy commissioner visited the tahsildar office and heard complaints from the public.

Notices served

S Sharada, grade-II tahsildar, was absent for work for two days without prior permission. Vijay Shankar ordered her suspension.

Special tahsildars Shivakumar and Suresh were served with notices for failing to clear files on a priority basis.