Drugs Control Administration Raids City-Based Kalinga Hospital

Bhubaneswar: The Drugs Control administration on Friday conducted a raid at the Kalinga Hospital in Bhubaneswar to check the quality of medicines being supplied to patients.

A three-member team comprising two drug inspectors of Bhubaneswar I and II and another officer of the drugs control administration conducted the raid.

The officials examined six types of medicines being supplied to patients by the hospital. According to reports, the drugs are found sub-standard quality.

The team seized the medicines and sent them to a laboratory for testing. The hospital authorities have been asked not to supply medicines to the patients until the test report of the drugs arrives.

It may be noted that the state government has excluded Kalinga Hospital from the Odisha State Treatment Fund (OSTF) list, Health and Family Welfare Minister Naba Das informed the Assembly last Saturday.

Das said a four-member inter-ministerial probe committee had found that the Kalinga Hospital authorities had misbehaved with BJP MLA Mohan Majhi. On the basis of the committee’s report, the state government has kept the hospital out of the OSTF list until further orders.

Das said he has also directed the Director Medical Education & Training (DMET) to probe into similar complaints against private hospitals in the state.

Majhi had told the Assembly on July 1 that he has seen the poor getting exploited by Kalinga Hospital authorities. He urged the Speaker to intervene in the matter.

The Speaker later directed the Health and Family Welfare Minister to form a ministerial-level committee to probe into the matter.

According to media reports, the son of Basudeb Barik from Naradpur village in Keonjhar’s Jhumpura block had died on June 29 while undergoing treatment at Kalinga Hospital. Though Basudeb had paid all the medical bills, the hospital refused to hand over his son’s body and demanded more money.

Basudeb later informed Majhi, who arrived at the hospital and requested the DGM and officials of the accounts department to release the body. But the hospital authorities refused to do so. Majhi also alleged that he was insulted and the hospital authorities misbehaved with him.