Forceps Left Inside Patient's Abdomen At GMC Kozhikode in 2017: Police to arrest doctors, Teachers' association oppose move

Kozhikode: Following a complaint against the Government Medical College Hospital (GMC) Kozhikode in an alleged medical negligence case, the legal counsel of the case has advised the medical college police to initiate criminal proceedings against two doctors and two nursing staff who were found responsible for leaving forceps inside a woman abdomen after surgery in 2017.  

In this case, the legal counsel is the district government pleader and prosecutor K N Jayakumar who advised the investigating officer and Medical College station assistant commissioner of police K Sudarshan to take action and arrest them at the earliest.  

Following this, the commissioner has been asked to register an FIR under Section 338 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) on grounds of medical negligence against the accused. 

Medical Dialogues team had earlier reported that an investigation by the Kerala police found that forceps were accidentally left inside a woman's abdomen after surgery in 2017. As a result, the report indicated two doctors and two nursing staff of the hospital responsible for the costly goof-up.

Also read- Forceps Left Inside Patient's Abdomen At GMC Kozhikode In 2017: Medical Board To Examine Police Report

The police launched the investigation following a complaint by the woman alleging that she faced health complications after undergoing a caesarean at the Government Medical College hospital in 2017.

A senior police officer 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.

Harshinia, the 30-year-old woman from Kozhikode, had filed the complaint seeking a probe in October last year.

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 used by surgeons to clamp bleeding vessels during surgeries.

Although the legal counsel has advised to take criminal proceedings against the accused, the medical college teachers have vehemently opposed the move and said that 'The police move would put doctors and nurses in a shadow of a doubt.'

Earlier the medical college officials had initially denied any negligence, citing her previous caesareans in private hospitals. However, the police’s findings prompted the authorities to constitute a medical board for further investigation.

Talking about this, Nirmal Bhaskar, president, and Rosnara Begum, secretary, of Kerala Government Medical College Teachers’ Association (KGMCTA) informed TH, "The district medical board has found that it cannot be completely proved that the surgical instrument must have been left behind during the surgery performed at the medical college hospital. The police report, however, contradicted this finding and said the lapse should have happened there. This report was allegedly prepared without examining the technical aspects of the medical board’s decision."

Despite the district medical board's acknowledgement that the scissors left behind in Harshina's stomach during the surgery was an act of medical negligence, the panel disagreed with the police's finding that the instrument got stuck in the woman’s stomach at the medical college.

Subsequently, the police appealed to the state committee for further instruction in the case. In response to this, the committee gave legal advice to file criminal proceedings against the accused and arrest them soon. 

Criticising the move, the teachers' association have stated that no action should be taken against the doctors until the facts are proven. 

Also read- Forceps Allegedly Left Inside Patient's Abdomen During C-Section At Eluru Government Hospital, Inquiry Ordered