The patient's family holds up the prescription. [NDTV capture/Yonhap]
The patient's family holds up the prescription. [NDTV capture/Yonhap]

A 19-month-old boy in India has allegedly been left blind after hospital staff administered the wrong medication during what began as a routine visit for cold symptoms.

According to Indian media including NDTV, Indraj Vishwakarma, a resident of Sagar in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, said the incident occurred on May 29 when he brought his toddler son to a government hospital.

The boy had been showing symptoms of a cold, cough and eye redness but was not in a serious condition. The pediatrician who examined him prescribed eye drops and a painkiller.

However, the family claims that during treatment, medical staff mistakenly administered an expectorant — a mucus-clearing drug — directly into the child's eyes. The boy's condition deteriorated rapidly, and the family waited three to four hours at the hospital hoping for improvement, but none came.

The hospital then transferred the child to a nearby facility, which in turn referred the family to a higher-level hospital. They eventually reached the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Bhopal, the state capital of Madhya Pradesh and one of India's premier national medical institutions.

The news from AIIMS was devastating. Doctors there told the family that the child had lost his sight completely as a result of the inappropriate medication and medical negligence.

"My son's life has been destroyed," Vishwakarma said. He has filed a complaint against the hospital and called for severe punishment for the doctor and staff involved.

As public outrage grew following news of the incident, state health authorities formed an investigation committee and launched a probe independent of the police inquiry.

The case has added to mounting controversy in the Sagar area, where another suspected case of medical negligence resulting in death occurred just days earlier.

At a university hospital, a patient died during treatment. The bereaved family alleged that the medical team administered an overdose of anesthesia and failed to provide timely care.

India is estimated to see about 5.2 million cases of medical malpractice and misdiagnosis each year, driven in part by shortages of medical personnel and infrastructure — a rate considered exceptionally high by global standards.


bbo@heraldcorp.com