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PCMC-run maternity home found using expired Betadine

ByVicky Pathare
Jan 25, 2025 09:14 AM IST

Doctors and staff at the PCMC-run Indira Gandhi Maternity Home, Sangvi, were found using expired Betadine lotion during treatment of new mothers post-delivery

PUNE: In a shocking incident, doctors and staff at the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC)-run Indira Gandhi Maternity Home, Sangvi, were found using expired Betadine lotion during treatment of new mothers post-delivery. A complaint in this regard has been received by the civic health department, officials said.

Doctors and staff at the PCMC-run Indira Gandhi Maternity Home, Sangvi, were found using expired Betadine lotion during treatment of new mothers post-delivery. (HT)
Doctors and staff at the PCMC-run Indira Gandhi Maternity Home, Sangvi, were found using expired Betadine lotion during treatment of new mothers post-delivery. (HT)

Raju Savle, a social activist, filed the complaint stating that health officials were caught red-handed using expired medical supplies. During an inspection, expired Betadine bottles from last year and Covid vaccines that had expired in 2022 and 2023 were discovered at the hospital, raising serious concerns about patient safety, according to the complaint.

In the wake of complaints, citizens and activists paid a visit to the maternity home on Thursday during which the hospital staff denied using expired Betadine or any other medicine for treating patients. Besides, the hospital staff refused to cooperate and were not ready to show the medicines to cross-verify the date. On Friday however, the group found the biomedical waste van which allegedly had expired bottles of Betadine lotion.

Savle said, “On Thursday, the staff hid the bottles inside the cupboards of the operation theatre and delivery ward. All these bottles were dumped the next day along with the biomedical waste which we found during inspection. The labels of these bottles had been tampered with to hide the expiry date. However, we had the batch numbers of the bottles which matched the disposed bottles. This is tantamount to endangering patients’ lives.”

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

Shekhar Singh, municipal commissioner of PCMC, said, “I will look into the issue and ask the team to conduct an inquiry. The required appropriate action will be taken against the staff if found guilty.”

According to officials, expired povidone-iodine (Betadine) may not work well, putting patients at a greater risk of contracting a skin infection even after applying the medication to the affected area. This can lead to potentially increasing the risk of infection due to the lotion’s diminished antimicrobial properties and could even irritate the wound further.

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