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Suspension, police case, protests: Row over Kerala ‘medical negligence’ case escalates
Youth Congress workers stormed into the official residence of Kerala Health Minister Veena George and laid a wreath at the door
Usha Joseph (51) lived with artery forceps in her abdomen for the last five years, after doctors left the surgical instrument in her body during a procedure she underwent at the medical college hospital in 2021.
The alleged medical negligence at the government-run medical college in Kerala’s Alappuzha district, where doctors are accused of having abandoned a surgical instrument in the body of a patient five years ago, has turned into a political controversy in the state.
Youth Congress workers stormed into the official residence of Kerala Health Minister Veena George in Thiruvananthapuram and laid a wreath at the door. The minister was not in the residence at the time. Young Congress workers also tried to disrupt the minister’s events in Pathanamthitta.
Claiming that the incident was being used to counter the achievements of the Left government over the last 10 years, the CPI(M) state secretariat said the party could not remain idle as the Opposition carries out the “sham” protest against the Health Minister. “Under the guise of protest, the Opposition is trying to create a riot in the state. It was during this government’s term that Kerala’s public health system reached levels never seen before in the state’s history,” the party said in a statement.
New surgery
Usha Joseph (51) lived with artery forceps in her abdomen for the last five years, after doctors left the surgical instrument in her body during a procedure she underwent at the medical college hospital in 2021.
On Saturday, she underwent another surgery at a private hospital in Kochi, during which the seven-cm-long forceps were removed.
The instrument was then handed over to Alappuzha police, who have registered a criminal case in the incident. The case lists Dr Lalithambika K, who was the gynaecology head at the medical college hospital when the alleged medical negligence took place, as the accused.
The health department has also suspended a doctor, who allegedly performed the 2021 surgery, and a nurse who was on duty at the operation theatre.
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The Kerala Government Medical College Teachers Association (KGMCTA), an outfit of doctors at medical colleges, has, however, registered a protest against the disciplinary action against the doctor.
Dr S Binoy, a member of the KGMCTA, said it was the medical system in the state that was collapsing. “This system is sinking. Several doctors are opting for VRS (voluntary retirement). In newly started medical colleges, there is not enough teaching staff. Our quality of medical education is going down,” he said.
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