Health Minister Dr. Rajitha Senaratne has instructed Health Services Director General Dr. Anil Jasinghe to hold an inquiry into an incident where at least 17 patients who sought treatment for eye-related conditions at the Nuwara Eliya hospital suffered vision loss after an injection.
“The minister who is in New York to attend the UN General Assembly sessions had called Dr. Jasinghe and advised him to conduct an immediate inquiry,” Health Ministry Media Unit sources said. Meanwhile, Dr. Jasinghe had instructed Nuwara Eliya General Hospital Director Dr. Aruna Jayasekara to withdraw the batch of medicine in question and not to treat patients with injections from the batch.
At least 17 patients who sought treatment at the Nuwara Eliya hospital for eye-related conditions have complained they had experienced complete or partial vision loss, following the administering of a drug via an injection. Hospital sources said some patients had complained of complete vision loss following treatment. Nuwara Eliya General Hospital Director Dr. Aruna Jayasekara said he had been informed of some complications suffered by several patients and they were currently under treatment.
Dr. Jayasekera said following treatment, some of the affected patients were already showing improvement in their conditions. He said samples of the drug from the batch in question have been sent to the drug-testing unit at the Health Ministry for investigations.
