Union Health Minister JP Nadda on August 27 said his ministry is holding deliberations on an expert panel's report on alleged faulty hip replacement surgeries by a multinational company in India and will take necessary steps.

We are deliberating on it, he told reporters, without elaborating. His comments came after reports appeared in the media, claiming pharma giant Johnson and Johnson "suppressed" facts on the harm caused by surgeries which were conducted on patients in India using "faulty" hip replacement systems.

According to reports, the expert committee, set up to investigate complaints about hip implant devices, has suggested that the company pay compensation of around Rs 20 lakh to the affected patients. Prodded further about the committee's report on the faulty hip replacement surgeries and why the company was still being allowed to continue with these surgeries, Nadda said, "I share your concerns. We will take necessary steps accordingly." 

The Health Ministry on August 25 said that following the reports which appeared in the media, it has directed the formation of state level committees for hearing the grievances. "The compensation to the patients will be decided based on examinations done on them. Now we have to assess how many (patients) are affected due to it. That is why state committees will be formed.

"Apart from this, advertisements will also be put up in prominent newspapers so that the affected patients know about this and can approach the committee with their grievances," the Drugs Controller General of India Eswara Reddy had told PTI.

Sources in the Ministry said that once the state committees examine those affected, they will give their recommendations to the expert committee at the centre and accordingly the company will be asked to compensate. Reports quoting the expert committee findings say that over 3,600 patients with faulty implants remain untraceable, and that at least four deaths have been reported among these patients.