A medical controversy has erupted in West Bengal after a woman died at Midnapore Medical College on January 10, and several others fell seriously ill in the days that followed. Allegedly, doctors at the state-run institute administered the women a banned saline, Ringer’s Lactate, following caesarean surgeries.
The state health department has formed a 13-member expert committee comprising doctors from leading medical institutions to investigate the incident. After visiting Midnapore Medical College on Saturday, the committee met health secretary Narayan Swaroop Nigam on Sunday.
Meanwhile, the conditions of three women, named Mampi Singh, Nasrin Khatun and Minara Bibi, deteriorated so badly that the health department brought them from the Paschim Medinipur facility to Kolkata’s IPGME&R SSKM Hospital via a green corridor on the expert committee’s recommendation. Singh was placed on ventilation support in the CCU, Khatun received ventilation in the ITU, and Bibi was admitted to the CCU with oxygen support.
The Ringer’s Lactate saline in question was manufactured by Paschim Banga Pharmaceuticals Limited. It is commonly used to restore hydration and fluid balance.
In 2023, Karnataka’s health department imported Ringer’s Lactate saline from Paschim Banga Pharmaceuticals. However, after a series of maternal deaths at Ballari district hospital, the solution was blacklisted in November of that year.
Karnataka raised concerns about the saline with both the central government and the West Bengal government. In response, the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO), Karnataka’s drug control bureau, and West Bengal’s state drug control and research laboratory inspected Paschim Banga Pharmaceuticals’ facility in Uttar Dinajpur between December 4 and 6, 2023.
The inspection revealed serious violations of safety and hygiene standards required for manufacturing medical products. As a result, the West Bengal government imposed a ban on 14 medical items produced by the company, including Ringer’s Lactate saline, until further notice.
The issue has sparked political outrage in West Bengal. On Monday, the Congress party marched to Swasthya Bhawan, the state health department headquarters, demanding the resignation of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who also serves as the state’s health minister.
“The health minister must take moral responsibility and step down,” said Subhankar Sarkar, chief of the West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee, during the protest. Police stopped the march near Swasthya Bhawan.
Sarkar further added, “We are deeply concerned for the people of West Bengal, who are being treated with banned medicines. Mamata Banerjee should resign and also dismiss the health secretary.”
The Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) also held a protest in Kolkata, condemning the use of banned substances in state-run medical facilities.
Meanwhile, junior doctors, who had previously protested after the RG Kar Medical College incident, reiterated their allegations of corruption within the state’s healthcare system. During their meeting with CM Banerjee last year, one of the issues raised by them was supplies of counterfeit and expired medicines to government hospitals, by a medical racket.
However, CM Banerjee has yet to make any comments on this issue.