Eight patients at govt. hospital in Salem fall ill after saline administration; one dies
Eight patients at govt. hospital in Salem fall ill after saline administration; one dies
A patient admitted to the Salem Government Mohan Kumaramangalam Medical College Hospital (GMKMCH) died after reportedly falling ill following saline administration on Thursday (January 30, 2025) night. Seven other patients also developed reactions to the saline solution, in a suspected case of contamination. The hospital authorities, however, denied that the death was caused by the IV fluid.
At around 9 p.m. on Thursday, doctors at the hospital administered saline to the patients of the male surgery ward, and by around 11 p.m., eight patients fell ill, with varying symptoms, and their relatives alerted the doctors. The hospital’s dean Dr. J. Devi Meenal, along with a medical team, transferred the affected patients to the Hybrid Intensive Care Unit (ICU) for treatment.
The affected patients were identified as Venugopal (40), a resident of Mangalapuram in Namakkal district; Manoj (28), a resident of Nagalur in Dharmapuri district; Manoharan (64), a resident of Erode district; Ramesh (45), a resident of Deevattipatti in Salem district; Rajaram (27), a migrant worker; Anbalagan (40), a resident of Kamalapuram in Salem district; and Murugaesan (54), a resident of Vazhapadi in Salem district.
At around midnight, Venugopal died at the hospital. The hospital authorities denied that his death was caused by the saline administration, stating that he had multiple underlying health conditions.
Dr. Devi Meenal said the same saline solution had been administered to several patients across the hospital, and that all the other affected patients remained stable.
Sources in GMKMCH said that Health Minister Ma. Subramanian had inquired about the incident.
“As soon as we received information about the incident, I spoke to the hospital dean. They suspect saline contamination. One patient who died already had multiple health issues. The remaining persons are stable. This is not a case of wrong treatment. As saline contamination is suspected, the dean has asked three specialists to conduct an inquiry,” Health Minister Ma. Subramanian said on Friday.
