Now, no health camps in without permission of Gurgaon civil surgeon

The chief medical medical officer of the civil hospital said there have been many complaints of blood collected from donation camps being sold

Organisations holding eye and blood donation camps in the Gurgaon district will now be required to take permission from the Gurgaon civil surgeon, say a directive issued by the civil hospital.

A directive issued by the Gurgaon civil hospital says organisations looking to hold eye or blood donation camps across the city have to seek permission of the Gurgaon civil surgeon. (Parveen Kumar/HT FILE)

The order was issued after almost 90 people lost their vision following botched-up surgeries at medical camps in Haryana, including Gurgaon, and Punjab in the year 2015-16.

Certain pre-conditions have been decided and permission will be given to only those people who fulfill them.

The civil hospital authorities have written to the private hospitals and labs to ensure that no such camps are organised.

BK Rajora, the chief medical officer (CMO) of the civil hospital, Gurgaon said, “Now the private labs and hospitals have to seek permission before organising the eye and blood donation camps. We cannot play with the health of residents and there have been several cases in Panipat and Samalkha where people lost vision,” he said.

Rajora said that anyone found conducting such camps without permission will be punished.

The CMO said that they had received many complaints where the blood collected by the blood donation camps was being sold.

Every organisation who wishes to organise medical camps will have to first certify that they have sufficient medical infrastructure and specialists to conduct surgeries if required, the civil surgeon said.

The CMO would also ensure that sterilised equipment is used at such camps for conducting surgeries and proper pre-operative and post-operative care is given to patients.

Moreover, NGOs and other voluntary organisations organising health camps must have adequate infrastructure and must maintain hygiene at the camps.

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The CMO would also seek details about doctors and other people involved in organising camps.

The private hospitals and labs interested in holding camps can apply at the civil surgeon’s office at the civil hospital.

Permission will be given and guidelines will also be issued to them for holding the camps, a hospital official said.

In the year 2015, as many as 60 people lost their vision following botched-up surgeries at a medical camp in Punjab’s Gurdaspur district while 19 patients from Haryana’s Panipat city had complained of partially losing their eyesight after cataract operations at private camps.