WB Junior Doctors Demand Health Secretary's Removal in Saline Death Case

Kolkata: Days after the death of a pregnant woman at Midnapore Medical College and Hospital allegedly due to the administration of expired intravenous fluid, the West Bengal Junior Doctors Front (WBJDF) on Tuesday once again called for the removal of State Health Secretary Narayan Swaroop Nigam. He has been accused of being responsible for the supply of "poor and substandard" medicines in government hospitals.

Addressing a media persons at the SSKM hospital, WBJDF Spokesman Debashish Haldar alleged that the government was trying to divert the attention from the real issue and pointing fingers at some junior doctors at the Midnapore Medical College and Hospital where a young mother Mamoni Ruidas died two days after delivering a baby.

According to a UNI report, Dr Haldar said time and again they have been demanding overhauling of the system of the government hospitals where substandard medicines like saline are being used endangering the lives of poor patients.

Also Read:Bengal Expired Saline Death Case: Calcutta HC to hear PILs on January 16

He said the Ringer's Lactate (RL), manufactured by PoshchimBongo Pharmaceutical Co, is being used in government hospitals even though the Karnataka government blacklisted the company in November 2024, after four patients died owing to alleged spurious saline. 

Mamoni Ruidas (30), who delivered a baby on Wednesday died on Thursday (January 9, 2025) at the Medinipur hospital. The family members of Mamoni alleged that the death was due to the use of “expired and spurious” saline.

Four other women have also allegedly developed complications and were admitted to the ICCU. Three of them have been shifted to the SSKM Hospital on Monday after their condition deteriorated.

Dr Haldar alleged that the state Health Secretary in the presence of Chief Secretary Manoj Panth in a media conference on Monday said the government was investigating whether any medical negligence by medics led to " unfortunate" death.

On December 7, Dr Haldar at a press conference said the doctors of the Medinipur hospital had complaints about the poor quality of Ringer Lactate but the authorities did not pay any heed to it, news agency UNI reported.

Medical Dialogues recently reported that amid the controversy over the death of a new mother, who was given expired intravenous fluid, the West Bengal Health Department has issued a memo to all Chief Medical Officers of Health in the districts and principals of all medical colleges to stop using Ringer's Lactate (RL) saline. Apart from this, the department, in a separate notice, specified that post-graduate students should not conduct surgical or anaesthetic procedures by themselves. 

The state Health Department has formed a 13-member panel to investigate the death of the young mother.

Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari said that one pregnant lady died after childbirth and four other pregnant women were admitted to Critical Care Unit (CCU) & Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at the Medinipur Medical College after becoming “critically ill” when administered “expired” saline”.

Adhikari in his social media also alleged that the West Bengal Health Department banned the use of Ringer’s Lactated (RL) saline and 14 other essential medical items; procured from “Paschim Banga Pharmaceutical Ltd” following the directive of Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI), the information was either not updated in the Store Management Information System of the WB Health Department or the authorities didn’t act sincerely, resulting in the loss of life of the one-day-old mother at the Medinipur Medical College.

Also Read:Pregnant woman dies at Midnapore Hospital, kin alleges expired saline administered