Fact-finding team inspects sealed private dental clinic in Vaniyambadi

A three-member fact-finding team of the Tamil Nadu Dental Council inspected the private dental clinic in Vaniyambadi town in Tirupattur on Tuesday to examine the charges levelled against its unsterile dental practices that allegedly led to death of eight patients who got treated there in May 2023.

Health officials said that the medical team comprised S. Appadurai, Head of Department, Department of Dental Surgery, Vellore Medical College Hospital; K. Baby John, Dean, Vinayaka Mission Hospital (Salem); and B. Vijay, principal, RVS Dental College and Hospital (Coimbatore).

The inspection was led by Mr. Appadurai and the other two were members of the Executive Committee (EC) of the Council. “The dental clinic has remained closed since it was sealed from May 31 on orders of Tirupattur Collector K. Siva Soundaravalli. Action against the clinic will be taken based on the report of the team,”, V. Gnana Meenakshi, Joint Director of Health Services (JDHS), Tirupattur, told The Hindu. 

The team inspected various sections in the clinic. The hour-long inspection also involved interaction with doctors, nurses, and other staff, who worked in the clinic before its closure. As the team completed the inspection, health authorities closed and sealed the facility.

Health officials said that closure of the clinic comes in the wake of a study done jointly by CMC Vellore, ICMR-NIE and Tamil Nadu Directorate of Public Health, which stated that an unsterile surgical instrument was used to open a saline bottle at the clinic. Reuse of the bottle’s contents had led to at least 10 people contracting neuro melioidosis — a bacterial infection of the brain — which allegedly led to the death of eight patients, who got treated there, the study said.