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The Suvarna Karnataka Chemists and Distributors Association (SKCDA) has urged the state government to withdraw suspension order against Karnataka drugs controller Dr Umesh S. The suspension orders were announced by the Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on November 30 who also wanted the prosecution of the West Bengal pharma firm for supplying 'substandard' Ringer's lactate which is suspected to have caused the death of four pregnant women at the Ballari Medical College Hospital and Research Centre, the erstwhile Vijayanagar Institute of Medical Sciences (VIMS).
In a communication to the Karnataka Chief Minister, state health and family welfare minister Dinesh Gundu Rao and principal secretary, Karnataka health and family welfare department, SKCDA’s legal cell chairman Ashokswamy Heroor said, “We request to withdraw the recommendation for suspension of the State Drug Controller Dr Umesh. This is because the state drugs controller cannot be held accountable for the death of the pregnant women at the Bellari Hospital and it is not the right course of action to be taken.”
Instead, it is the chief administrative officer of KAS (Karnataka Administrative Services) rank who is the responsible authority for the purchase of the medicine for the Ballari Medical College Hospital. Also the state drugs control department testing lab is based out of Ballari only. If the authorities had any doubt about the quality of the drugs, then they had to inform the Bellari Medical College Hospital chief who could ask the drug test lab to test the quality, he added.
The drug enforcement teams regularly collect the medicine samples during their inspections across all districts. These are sent for quality tests to any of the three state drugs control labs at Bengaluru, Hubballi and Ballari, said the SKCDA chief of legal cell.
In his communication, Heroor further pointed out that in the government hospitals, purchase of the medicines is via tenders and is based on the quotations where the contract is awarded to pharma companies quoting the lowest price. The drugs controller plays absolutely no role in this. It is actually the responsibility of the Ballari hospital’s drug purchase department, in-house pharmacy store to be made accountable and check the good storage-distribution practices of this IV fluid.
Also the Karnataka minister for health and family welfare Dinesh Gundu Rao in his media interaction on November 30, said, “Since April 2024, 2,600 caesarean surgeries were performed at the Ballari Medical College Hospital and no fatalities were reported. But suddenly, four succumbed and we suspect fresh batch of Ringer’s lactate was administered.”
Heroor quoting a media interaction where health minister said, “The government developed suspicion as early as February-March. Drugs control department picked 92 batches and tested to find 22 were substandard. We blacklisted the company but it got a stay order from the court. The company also appealed against our tests. The central lab in Kolkata said the samples were fine. Still, we refrained from using it.”
Therefore, we again bring to your notice that Karnataka drugs controller has no role in this. The government should only take action against the doctors and administrators of the Bellari Medical College Hospital. It is a wrong decision by the government to recommend the suspension of the state drug controller. Hence, we hereby request the government to immediately withdraw the suspension recommendation of Karnataka drugs controller Dr Umesh S, said Heroor.
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