In a worrying trend, the government hospital in Nelamangala, a town on the northwest outskirts of Bengaluru, has come under fire for allegedly giving children subpar medications. This occurs shortly after around two dozen nursing mothers in the areas of Raichur and Ballari passed away. According to locals, the labels on paracetamol syrup bottles given to kids at Nelamangala Government Hospital were purposefully blacked out, hiding important characteristics including the manufacturer’s name, batch number, and license information.
The majority of the kids who received the syrup were between the ages of five and eleven. Ramesh Raj (name changed), a worried parent, expressed his concerns to the *Times of India*. He clarified that he was handed a bottle of paracetamol syrup with the label markings covered out when he brought his son to the hospital for a standard examination. When he questioned the hospital staff, they urged that he give his child the syrup without offering an explanation. This sparked serious worries about the medication’s quality and safety, raising the possibility that the kids would be harmed.
In order to cure children’s fever, an order for paracetamol syrup was issued, according to Dr. Sonia, the medical officer of Nelamangala Government Hospital. But when the department got the supplies, the labels on the syrup bottles were missing important information. After bringing up the matter with the Bengaluru Rural District Health Officer (DHO), Dr. Sonia was told that, in spite of the labels being altered, the medications had passed quality testing in a lab. She attested that the syrup was nonetheless given to patients in spite of the incorrect labelling.
Later, it was confirmed by health department officials that various hospitals throughout the state had received bottles of paracetamol syrup with blackened labels. The practice of using black markers to hide important information on drug packaging is unusual and unlawful, according to a senior laboratory scientist from the Karnataka State Medical Supplies Corporation. All medicine packaging should be thoroughly tested in labs, as per regular procedure, and any medications that pass these tests should be disposed of if their labelling is flawed. It is illegal to provide medications with blacked-out labels.
Given the ongoing health problem in some districts, this issue raises serious questions regarding the safety and control of pharmaceuticals in the state. The concealment of crucial medication information draws attention to possible patient safety hazards and erodes confidence in the healthcare system.
SOURCE :
TIMES OF INDIA
