4 dismissed over HIV blood transfusion

Tribune News Service

Bathinda, November 24

The Health Department has dismissed four contract lab technicians after incidents of transfusion of HIV-positive blood to patients came to light at the Civil Hospital in Bathinda. The Health department will also be seeking a Vigilance probe into the case.

The action has been taken on the directions of Health Minister Balbir Singh Sidhu after these employees were found guilty in a probe.

Health Secretary Husan Lal confirmed that the four contract employees of the Bathinda blood bank had been suspended. He said repeated incidents in this regard seemed to be more of conspiracy than negligence, so they would call for a Vigilance probe. In October; a seven-year-old thalassaemia patient was given blood of an HIV-positive donor. In this case, lab technician Baldev Singh Romana is in jail, while contract workers Richa and Karishma were suspended.

This is the second action on the blood bank employees at the Bathinda Civil Hospital as earlier this month, two incidents of HIV blood transfusion were reported.

Meanwhile, a group of health workers have started protesting after the suspension of the lab technicians. These employees have announced to come out in favour of the suspended lab technicians from Wednesday by holding a strike in the labs of all government hospitals in the district, besides the blood bank of the Civil Hospital. They have called for a “fair” probe. They have alleged that they were being falsely implicated for the negligence in the blood bank.

Another thalassaemic kid tests HIV-positive

Bathinda: Another thalassaemia-affected child was found HIV-positive at the Bathinda Civil Hospital on Tuesday. When the nine-year old from Barnala district was tested for HIV before blood transfusion, his report came out positive. The Bathinda Thalassaemia Association claims that he has been undergoing treatment at the hospital for the last four years and was administered blood from the hospital 15 days back. Earlier, three kids and a woman were reported to have been given HIV-positive blood by the government blood bank. TNS