In an incident of sheer medical negligence, a 10-month-old child was administered an expired vaccine at Gountia Hospital of Kuchinda in Sambalpur district on Thursday.
As per reports, Rajesh Kumar Sahu and his wife, residents of Deogarh’s Barkote, visited the hospital to get her infant daughter vaccinated.
According to the complainant, the accused doctor, Sarat Chandra Gountia, administered an expired vaccine and charged Rs 2100 from the patient.
When Rajesh inquired what vaccine his daughter was inoculated with, the doctor gave him a vaccine cover after tearing off the portion where expiry date was written.
Having doubts over the doctor’s action, Sahu went inside and found the torn piece of the cover inside the dustbin. It was found that the vaccine had expired five years ago and the doctor had charged them five times the actual cost of the vaccine.
“Doctors are revered as god. But nobody would have imagined the doctor at Gountia hospital would fall from grace. He might be doing the same for a long while,” said Rajesh.
Later, the couple filed a complaint against the doctor at a police station.
“A case has been registered against the doctor. Investigation to the matter is underway,” said Raj Kishor Mishra, Kuchinda SDPO.
The infant was sent to the Kuchinda hospital by the police for check-up. Condition of the child was stable but, she was under observation for 24 hours.