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This is an archive article published on May 1, 2011
PGI cannula: Probe panel gets 10 days
Two weeks after incident,mystery remains unsolved; committee members to interview patients family.
Written by Smriti Sharma Vasudeva
Chandigarh | May 1, 2011 12:28 AM IST
3 min read
3 min read
Even after almost two weeks,there is no headway in the matter pertaining to a used cannula which was sold to a patients kin required for his heart bypass surgery after the chemist who sold the canoula denied any role in this. The PGI authorities had about a week back issued a notice to the chemist operating from PGI campus,who had sold the used canoula an explanation from him as to how and from where did he procure a used cannula which he sold to the family members of 69 year old Surjit Singh who was to undergo a by-pass surgery.
Now the committee looking into the matter has been given a 10-day deadline to probe the matter and submit its findings,said Deputy Directoor,PGI Administration,Dr Surjit Singh. So far ,the joint committee which was formed earlier consisting of officials of PGI administration and internal vigilance department has recorded the statements of the staff members of the advanced cardiac centre and the doctors who had complained to the administration. Now,the committee will interview and record the statements of the family members of the patient who had purchased the cannula.
Earlier the authorities had ordered a probe into the incident. It was on April 18 that the staff members and a doctor at the Advance Cardiac Centre noticed that the cannula bought by attendants of 69-year-old Surjit Singh from a chemist shop on the PGI campus was a used one.
This incident had left many questions unanswered on the disposal of bio medical waste in the PGI and also on how a used canoula found its way out in the market. Sources say that while the paramedical staff and OT technicians are supposed to dispose off the bio medical waste,chances are that some of the used items after being sterlised in the OTs are being smuggled out and are being sold at lower prices and this is how some of the items used in surgeries are being re-circulated.
It must be mentioned that about a month ago,OT technicians had gone on a strike after they alleged that as per WHO guidelines breaking used needles,which is classified as biomedical waste,is not a part of their job profile. There was a dispute pertaining to this between the nursing staff and OT technicians which had led to the stir.
This,had once again raised doubts that despite having proper guidelines on disposing bio-medical waste,PGI authorities are still callous about who will dispose off the used surgical items,leaving an open field for those who re-circulate the used items and put the lives of patients in danger.
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