City hospital gets show-cause notice

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, August 13

Ten days after officials of the Drug Department inspected the blood bank of Gulab Devi Hospital here and found glaring anomalies in labelling and storage of blood units, state Joint Commissioner, Drugs, has finally issued a show-cause notice to the institute.

It has asked the hospital authorities why the licence of the blood bank should not be cancelled or suspended. They have been told to reply within 10 days.

While a report submitted by the Zonal Licensing Authority, Jalandhar, over the issue found glaring anomalies in the working of the blood bank, the Joint Commissioner observed that there was a lack of technical supervisor and lab technicians (indicating that proper screening and testing of blood samples was not taking place), blood was not being tested, 24 blood units were kept in ambient temperature conditions, which caused the blood to become haemolysed (clotted or curdled).

It was also found that in violation of the guidelines, tested and untested blood samples were not kept separately, many of the blood units did not bear expiry date, bags were not numbered, two bags were found assigned the same number, many of the units were not properly tested, fake signatures of the BTO were used in the record.