16 patients lose vision after botched surgery

Sixteen patients hailing from village Gago Mahal falling in the Ajnala Town of Amritsar, have lost their eyesight permanently after being operated in an eye camp which was organised by an NGO.

Confirming the incident Deputy Commissioner Amritsar, Mr Ravi Bhagat today said that all the affected patients were admitted in the city ENT Hospital under the supervision of Assistant Professor Dr Karamjit Singh who confirmed that all the patients have lost their eye sight permanently.

Bhagat said that in this regard a high-level enquiry has been ordered to bring the whereabouts of Doctors who were treating people in the eye camp and the NGO responsible for such an irrecoverable massive loss.

Giving details about the incident, civil surgeon Amritsar, Dr Rajiv Bhalla said that all the patients were operated at eye camp at village Ghuman falling in the district Gurdaspur around ten days ago. Facts came to light when all the 16 patients belonging to Amritsar approached Mr. Bhagat to lodge complaint against the NGO and the doctors concerned.there were total 60 patients, including sixteen from Amritsar and all have lost their eye vision. Besides Amritsar, the patients were from district Gurdaspur.

Dr. Bhalla said that doctors were performing cataract surgery in the eye camp under highly unhygienic conditions whereupon eyes of all the sixty patients were found damaged permanently.

Dr Bhalla said that before organising the eye camp in the district Gurdaspur, mandatory permission was required from the district administration and civil surgeons of District Gurdaspur and District Amritsar but all the norms were thrown to wind. He said that such an act warranted the registration of a criminal case against the doctors concerned and the people running the NGO.

Dr. Bhalla said that all the affected patients having age above 60 are in poor economic conditions, presently being provided free medical treatment in the ENT hospital of Amritsar and Gurdaspur.