Pressure to achieve target of cataract surgeries may have led to blinding: Cong

The nine-member probe team of Chhattisgarh Pradesh Congress Committee (CGPCC) which investigated the alleged botched up cataract eye surgery in Christian Fellowship Hospital, Rajnandgaon had alleged laxity on part of the hospital management for the loss of eye sight in the operated eyes of 35 persons.

The party has demanded a high-level probe into the incident.

Addressing a press conference after submitting the enquiry report here at Congress Bhawan on Friday afternoon, the Head of the probe team, Dr Rakesh Gupta said that in their investigation in the hospital they found that the hospital used ‘fake’ medicines during the operations.

Apart from it the pressure on doctors to complete the target was also one of the reasons for the failure of the surgery, he said.

 The affected eyes of 100 patients were operated by the private doctors there on February 22, 23 and 24.

 In the surgeries done on February 23, 35 out of the total 45 patients have now lost vision in the operated eye, Gupta said.

He further said the condition of 15 of the patients are so worsened that their eyes had to be removed.

Gupta also charged that neither the District Hospital nor the Rajnandgaon Medical College had the facility of operating cataract. Thus there is compulsion for the patients to approach the private hospital for surgeries.

Two NGOs jointly organized the eye camp in Christian Fellowship Hospital with very nominal fee as they were expected to get financial assistance from the state government. The assistance didn’t reach the hospital on time and that too could be a possible reason for laxity, he said.