What went wrong in the Pendari family planning camp that it led to such a grave tragedy?
Prima facie it appears that spurious drugs may be the key reason behind the tragedy. But only the probe ordered by our government can bring out the truth. I concede it is sheer medical negligence. Serious lapses in conduct of the camp have come to surface. As per the recently revised standard protocol, a doctor is required to conduct a maximum of 40 operations in a camp. Yet, one doctor (R.K. Gupta) performed 83 surgeries in a day in Pendari camp. It is really shocking.
But the same doctor was honoured at the last Republic Day function by the state government for conducting 50,000 sterilisation surgeries till then?
I had personally honoured him. It is beyond my comprehension how a doctor of his standing could do such a blunder. I find it not only shocking but mysterious. The probe will unravel the mystery. We have registered a criminal case against him (he was arrested on Thursday).
Are doctors under pressure to achieve targets in such camps? Is that what is leading to such tragic incidents?
There is no such fixing of targets. Planning for the Central government-sponsored health programmes is done down to the district level and it’s done for the year.
This is the second such tragedy in Chhattisgarh in two years. Last year, because of botched eye surgeries, 83 elderly people lost their eyesight. Doesn’t the recurrence of such tragedies reflect the deteriorating health services in the state?
The entire health department or health services should not be blamed for such one-off incidents. After the eye surgery mishap, we revised the standard protocol, setting strict guidelines for conducting such camps.
But the doctors suspended for botched eye surgeries have been reinstated.
Suspensions were revoked following court orders.
What’s your reaction to demands for your resignation from several quarters?
I had rushed to Chhattisgarh Institute of Medical Science (CIMS), Bilaspur, the moment I was alerted about the impending tragedy. I found the atmosphere in the hospital gloomy. Fifty-eight women, suffering from post-surgery complications, had been admitted and all of them were in critical condition. I acted swiftly on the spot, arranging private doctors from specialised hospitals and other places to provide the best possible medical care to them. As far as my resignation is considered, it is for chief minister Raman Singh and the party to take the decision.
There are whispers in power corridors that you come out unscathed after every such mishap because of your proximity to the Chief Minister. Your comment.
What is wrong in a minister being close to the chief minister? It ushers in good team work.
There were allegations that there was an attempt to cover up the incident.
This is an absolutely baseless allegation. The material referred to was biomedical waste that is routinely destroyed by CIMS.
