Form panel to check protocol on ADR: Bombay HC

Mumbai: The Bombay high court has directed the state government to constitute a committee under the chairmanship of the joint director, Food and Drug Administration (FDA), to check whether city-based MCGM-run hospitals are procuring medicines from authorised manufacturers, and storing them as per prescribed specifications.

A division bench of Justice B.R. Gavai and Justice Bharati Dangare was hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) filed in 2014 by Ketan Tirodkar, pointing out incidents at Bhabha Hospital (Kurla) and Rajawadi Hospital (Ghatkopar) where 18 children and over 25 women suffered adverse drug reactions (ADRs). The petition sought action against those responsible under section 304-A of the IPC.

While hearing the petition last week, the court said, “Not only finding out the cause of ADRs but also offering a solution for the same is important.”

A mechanism needs to be worked out so that incidents of ADR to antibiotic injections, normally administered in civic-run hospitals, are not repeated, the court said. In order to examine the causes and suggest possible solutions, a joint committee comprising senior officers and experts needed to be set up to determine whether standard ADR protocol was being followed and how hospitals should cope with such cases, it said.

The committee would examine the drug procurement system and suggest guidelines to ascertain that all drugs, and equipment obtained by civic-run hospitals were of standard quality.