Forceps Left Inside Patient's Abdomen At GMC Kozhikode: Govt grants permission to prosecute doctors, nurses

Kozhikode: In connection with the alleged medical negligence case at Government Medical College Hospital (GMC) Kozhikode, where forceps were reportedly left inside a female patient's abdomen, the Kerala Health Department has authorized the police to initiate legal proceedings against all four accused in the case.

The Principal Secretary of the Health Department issued the instruction on Saturday. In compliance with this directive, the charge sheet will be presented to the Kundamangalam court on Tuesday.

This measure is a result of the DGP's transmission of the request, submitted by the City Police Commissioner, to prosecute the four medical personnel to the government.

Also read- Forceps Left Inside Patient's Abdomen At GMC Kozhikode: Doctors, Nurses To Face Action, Police Looks For Prosecution

The four accused in the case involve two doctors - an assistant professor at the gynaecology department of Manjeri Government Medical College and the other is a gynaecologist at a private hospital in Kottayam and two staff nurses at Kozhikode Medical College Hospital.

They have been charged under sections punishable by imprisonment of up to two years. The probe by police revealed that a pair of artery forceps were stuck in the patient's stomach during her third delivery-related surgery at the Kozhikode Medical College Hospital on November 30, 2017.

Medical Dialogues team had earlier reported that the matter came to light after Harshina, a 30-year-old woman from Kozhikode filed a complaint seeking a probe in October last year. She alleged that she faced health complications after undergoing a caesarean at the Government Medical College Hospital in 2017.

The woman had undergone her third caesarean at the Medical College in November 2017, with her earlier two C-sections performed in different private hospitals.

On September 17, 2022, the doctors of Kozhikode Medical College conducted a significant surgery on Harshinia, who was suffering from severe pain, to remove a mosquito artery forceps that had been in her stomach for the past five years. The mosquito artery forceps is a scissor-like piece of equipment surgeons use to clamp bleeding vessels during surgeries.

Based on the complaint, Kerala police conducted an investigation and found that forceps were accidentally left inside a woman's abdomen after surgery in 2017, The report indicated two doctors and two nursing staff of the hospital were responsible for the costly good-up.

A senior police officer had earlier said that the investigation confirmed that the forceps were accidentally left inside the woman’s body after the caesarean section, which was an alleged act of negligence by the doctors.

"We were worried as the sanction was delayed for three-and-half months. I'm relieved that we finally got the sanction. Since our main objective is compensation, we'll continue our legal battle to secure this," Harshina said while responding to Onmanorama.

Also read- Forceps Left Inside Patient's Abdomen At GMC Kozhikode In 2017: Doctor, 2 Nurses Served Arrest Notices; Released