Silchar: In a shocking incident earlier this week, a woman was allegedly given an expired medicine at a government hospital in Assam’s Cachar district during an eye check-up.
The incident reportedly took place on Monday at the Banskandi Community Health Centre, located under the Lakhipur assembly constituency, around 18km from Silchar. Akhtara Begum Laskar, a resident of Gobindapur, Part-III, Lakhipur, visited the hospital for an eye checkup due to uneasiness in her eyes. A doctor examined her and prescribed three medicines.
Akhtara went to the hospital’s pharmacy to purchase the prescribed medicines but found that two of them were unavailable. She received only one eye drop (Gentamicin eye drop) and soon discovered it had expired in 2023.
Speaking to reporters, Akhtara’s brother Saharul Alom Laskar, who accompanied her, highlighted the negligence of the hospital authorities. “Who would have taken responsibility if Akhtara had used the expired eye drop?” Saharul questioned. He demanded a thorough investigation and sought the intervention of District Commissioner Rohan Kumar Jha.
Akhtara expressed deep concern and called for a high-level probe to ensure those responsible are punished and that hospital staff perform their duties diligently.
Local residents of Banskandi claimed that similar allegations of negligence had been made against the Banskandi Community Health Centre in the past but had not been adequately addressed. They demanded a thorough inquiry and appealed to the state government for intervention.
Dr. Arif Mansoor, an ophthalmologist at Choudhury Eye Hospital and Research Centre in Silchar, told EastMojo that using expired eye drops like Gentamicin can result in infections and reactions, though it is unlikely to cause blindness.
A medical representative in Silchar explained that expired medicines are typically returned by pharmacies to stockists and then destroyed by manufacturers according to proper procedures.
No officials from the Banskandi Community Health Centre could be reached for comments.
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