Himachal orders probe after patients lose eyesight

The Himachal Pradesh government Saturday ordered a probe after some patients, who had undergone cataract surgery in March at a free eye camp, lodged a complaint that they lost eyesight after the operation, officials said.

They said that they underwent the surgery at a private hospital in Punjab's Pathankot town, where around 60 patients from Punjab and Himachal were operated upon.

Himachal Health Secretary Vineet Chawdhry has asked Chief Medical Officer B.M. Gupta, who is posted in Kangra town, to enquire into the complaint and submit the report within a week.

"I have deputed a team of doctors to meet the patients and record their statements," Gupta told IANS over phone.

He said most of the patients were from Kandwal village in Nurpur sub-division of Kangra district, bordering Pathankot.

He said the operation screening camp for the patients of Himachal Pradesh was conducted by Nagni Mandir Committee of Nurpur, some 300 km from here.

Meanwhile, the team of doctors started examining the patients.

"I have examined five patients so far and they have almost lost their eyesight. I received affidavit from them. I think more people will come forward to lodge their complaint," a team member told reporters.

The botched up cataract surgeries came to light when relatives of the patients, who lost their eyesight, staged a protest outside the hospital in Pathankot.