Family members of an elderly patient admitted to Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS), Adilabad, have raised complaint about an expired medicine vial that they found beside the 65-year-old’s bed.
The vial had expired in January this year, alleged the patient’s son, Kailash Sharma, who happened to check the date before it was administered. He added that he is unsure if expired medicines have been administered to his father earlier. The patient’s condition was stable on Monday.
A complaint was lodged with the hospital’s superintendent, police, and Adilabad district collector. Staff of the hospital informed the administration that the expired vial was indeed found in the ward. An inquiry committee has been formed to get to the bottom of the issue.
Mr Sharma said that his father suffered from complications associated with high sugar levels and was admitted to RIMS on June 9. On June 13 night, an antibiotic vial was placed beside his bed. Upon checking, Mr Sharma found the expiry date was January 2021.
He alleged that medicines past their expiry dates were placed beside the beds at least five more patients. “The staff threw the medicines out of the window. But I refused to give the vial meant for my father and demanded to meet the superintendent. I lodged a complaint with him. Thankfully, I checked the expiry date. What about academically illiterate families whose family members are admitted here?” he said.
It also led to other questions about how long the expired medicine vials have been lying at the hospital and if they were administered to other patients earlier.
Hospital superintendent Balram Banoth said, “An inquiry committee is looking into the issue. A drug inspector, too, is part of the committee to ensure impartial inquiry”. He added that no other medicine in the hospital had crossed the expiry date.
Directions issued
Senior officials of the Health department have directed other government hospitals to thoroughly check the expiry date of all medicines stocked with them, and discard or destroy the medicines past their expiry date.
A software was put in place to send alerts three months before a medicine expires.
