Jabalpur hospital sealed after patient dies following alleged administration of expired IV fluid

Bhopal/Jabalpur: An 18-year-old patient died after allegedly receiving an expired intravenous (IV) drip from an unauthorised person at a private hospital in Madhya Pradesh’s Jabalpur district, prompting the health department to seal the facility and police to launch an investigation.

The IV fluid bottle used during the treatment was found to have an expiry date of November 2025, police said. Following the incident, the health department sealed the hospital, while police booked the accused and took him into custody. The exact medical cause of the patient’s death, however, is yet to be established, reports the Daily.

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The incident reportedly took place at Ashwini Hospital in Khairi village of Belkharu, under the Katangi police station area. The deceased, a resident of Bhatta Mohalla, had visited the hospital on October 2 after complaining of abdominal pain.

He was discharged the following morning but reportedly developed a severe burning sensation in his hands and feet shortly after returning home. His family rushed him back to the hospital, where he died during treatment. 

Following a complaint by his relatives, police launched an investigation into the circumstances surrounding his death. 

Speaking to TOI, Patan SDOP Ashutosh Dwivedi said CCTV footage examined as part of the probe showed that the hospital’s authorised operator wasn’t around when the patient was treated. Instead, the accused allegedly gave him the IV drip despite having no medical degree or diploma authorising him to practise or administer medicines.

During the investigation, police examined the medicines and medical equipment used in the treatment and found that the intravenous fluid bottle bore an expiry date of November 2025.

Investigators seized the partially filled IV fluid bottle, the drip set, a needle, an empty injection vial and medicine wrappers from the hospital premises.

According to police, the needle recovered from the premises bore a manufacturing date of December 2023 and an expiry date of November 2025.

The seized materials are expected to form part of the evidence being examined by investigators as they attempt to establish the sequence of events leading to the patient’s death.

The incident has also raised concerns about the availability of qualified medical personnel and the proper handling and use of medicines at private healthcare facilities in rural areas.

However, police have clarified that the definitive medical cause of the patient’s death has not yet been established. Further findings from the ongoing investigation are awaited.

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