A group of patients who suffered as a result of Johnson & Johnson’s faulty ASR hip implants, which were globally recalled in 2010, have now approached the Union Health Ministry, seeking a copy of the Ministry’s expert committee report.
“We have suffered severe consequences — medical, financial and personal — because of the hip implant. In spite of our attempts over several years to draw attention to the serious safety concerns with the ASR hip implant device, and the pain and agony experienced by us, the response from the Government for years was one of apathy and dismissiveness,” the group said in its letter to Union Health Minister J.P. Nadda.
The Government in 2017 had constituted a high-power expert committee to look into the implant and also the conduct of Johnson & Johnson in the light of the failure of the device. This committee submitted its final report to the Ministry in February 2018.
“It is now six months since the report was submitted but it has not been made available to the public or to us. Since February, some of us have made requests for the report, only to be told that it cannot be shared,” the letter said.
The group has now demanded that the investigation and the resulting governmental action should be done in a transparent manner to ensure that vested interests did not influence the process.
“Denying us the report of the expert committee is like rubbing salt on our wounds, and undermines our struggle for justice,” noted the letter.
