Ballari maternal deaths: Ready to resign if I'm at fault, says Karnataka health minister

Bengaluru: Karnataka Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao on Friday said he is “ready to resign” in connection with maternal deaths in Ballari whose tally has risen to five.

The opposition BJP has demanded a Lokayukta investigation into the maternal deaths, which are being blamed on a substandard intravenous (IV) fluid administered to patients during cesarean section.

“If I'm at fault, I'm ready to resign. This isn't about prestige or power. This is about people’s lives,” Rao told reporters. “If my resignation will make things alright, I'm ready. But we've taken this very seriously,” he said, adding that the situation was a “challenge for me and our government”.

Last month, four women died in Ballari. “There were nine patients who had problems of whom four died. A fifth patient, who was undergoing treatment, died Thursday night,” Rao said.

“We’re told that there were complications. We need to wait for the medical audit. The patient had stabilised, came out of the ventilator and had started walking. She was off antibiotics. The update we had was that the patient was improving. We need a final report to know what exactly happened,” the minister said.

Last week, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah ordered the suspension of Drugs Controller Dr S Umesh and the prosecution of Paschim Banga Pharmaceuticals, a West Bengal company whose Ringer’s lactate is suspected to have caused the maternal deaths.

“We’re getting the company investigated. Apart from the IV fluid, we’ve withheld all other supplies made by this company,” Rao said, adding that a state team inspected the company’s facility in West Bengal.

Rao called for an overhaul of the drugs regulatory system. “Pharma companies don’t face action when they err. It’s as if laws are there to protect them. We’re failing as a country and state to ensure action against those who’ve erred,” he said. “We need stricter procedures to regulate poor quality medicines.”

The minister said his government has written to the central drugs control department. “We’re asking them why their labs are clearing drugs that have failed our tests. When this happens, we can neither blacklist a company nor reject its materials,” Rao said.

327 deaths since April

Rao said Karnataka has seen 327 maternal deaths since April this year. “I’ve asked for every case to be investigated. Why did these deaths occur? Were there medical reasons or something else? We need an analysis,” he said.