Instead of Vitamin Tonic, New Mothers Given Harmful Phenol

Seven patients at the District Women's Hospital in Amravati were given phenol cleaner instead of vitamin tonic on Wednesday after a nurse directed an attendant to given the medicines to the patient. All of the seven patients had delivered babies recently and were recuperating at the hospital. They were supposed to be given pro-vitamin tonic by the nurse but she asked the attendant, Shobha Ingle, to give it instead.

Ingle then three spoonfuls of phenol cleaner to the seven patients who immediately vomited and complained of stomach ache. One of the patients, Vaishali Wasule, smelled the “tonic” and told Ingle that it smelled like phenyl. However the attendant ignored the warning and said that it was the medicine.

One of the doctors at the hospital, Dr PB Sadhawani tried to brush the matter under the carpet, claiming that Ingle had indeed given vitamin medicine and explained the smell by saying that the medicine was kept in a phenyl bottle.

“Ingle did not distribute phenolic cleaner to patients. However, she had taken the pro-vita medicine in a phenolic cleaner bottle. Ingle was giving medicine but since it had been poured in a phenolic cleaner bottle, it smelled like phenyl”, Dr Sadhawani said.

The bottle from which Ingle had administered the medicines has been tagged by the police who revealed that they will be conducting an investigation into the matter.


Source-Medindia