Expired betadine was found to be used in the PCMC maternity ward

PUNE: In a shocking incident, doctors and staff at the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC)-run Indira Gandhi Maternity Home in Sangwa used expired Betadine lotion while treating new mothers after delivery. According to officials, the health department received a complaint about this.

Raju Savle, a social activist, filed a complaint saying that health officials were caught red-handed using expired medical supplies. According to the complaint, an inspection at the hospital found expired vials of Betadine from last year and Covid vaccines with expiration dates in 2022 and 2023, raising serious patient safety concerns.

In response to the complaints, citizens and activists visited the maternity hospital on Thursday, during which hospital staff denied using expired Betadine or any other drug to treat patients. In addition, the hospital staff refused to cooperate and were not ready to show the medication for date cross-checking. However, on Friday, the group found a biomedical waste van that allegedly contained expired bottles of Betadine lotion.

Savle said: “On Thursday staff hid the bottles in cupboards in the operating room and delivery room. All these bottles were thrown away the next day along with the biomedical waste we found during the inspection. The labels on these bottles were tampered with to hide the expiration date. However, we had bottle lot numbers that matched the recycled bottles. This is tantamount to endangering the lives of patients.”

Mangesh Bhalekar, another citizen, said, “The quality of medical services at the hospital has deteriorated. The number of patients in outpatient departments (OPDs) has decreased to an average daily number of 100 patients, which was about 300 to 350 a few months ago. We fear that such negligence could lead to serious health risks for patients, especially vulnerable new mothers and children. We want strict legal action against the responsible hospital staff and improvement of medical facilities to ensure patient safety.”

Shekhar Singh, Municipal Commissioner, PCMC, said, “I will look into the matter and ask a team to investigate. Appropriate measures will be taken if the staff is found guilty.”

Expired povidone-iodine (Betadine) may not work as well as it should, putting patients at greater risk of developing a skin infection even after applying the drug to the affected area, officials said. This can lead to a potential increase in the risk of infection by reducing the antimicrobial properties of the lotion and can even further irritate the wound.