Medical board likely to look into woman's death due to alleged medical negligence at Kozhikode Medical College Hospital

Kozhikode: Days after the postmortem report of a 45-year-old deceased patient admitted at Kozhikode Medical College Hospital (MCH) confirmed that there was no medical negligence on the part of the staff, the Kozhikode District Medical Officer (DMO) is planning to set up a medical board to take final decisions on the complaints related to the incident.  

After the 45-year-old K.T. Sindhu, a native of Koodaranhi passed away after receiving an injection, her husband alleged that the alleged medical negligence of one of the nurses led to her death claiming that the nurse prescribed her the wrong injection. 

Also Read:No medical Negligence in woman's death at Kozhikode Medical College Hospital

The post-mortem report revealed that she had died from anaphylaxis - a severe allergic reaction, which was reported by the Medical Dialogues team previously.

Before injecting the full dose, the nurse tested a shot of 'crystalline penicillin' on the patient's arm and found no allergic reaction. The woman died from the side effects of the medicine which caused her internal organs to fail. The hospital authorities had observed that the medicine was given in a form of injection after observing that no allergic reaction was found in the woman's body. 

An ongoing police report have reportedly found the fault with the nurse, as it observed that the latter was careless in her job. Further, according to the police report, the patient was lying on the floor of the hospital corridor, adding that the staff did not pay proper attention to her while giving the injection. Also, no doctors were present when the patient began showing uneasiness later, reports the Hindu. 

The woman was not given an on-time proper medicine to counter the allergic reaction, said the police. The hospital authorities have been refuting the allegations that the hospital staff on duty handled the treatment process with utmost care and that the allegation was an attempt to tarnish the reputation and image of the hospital. 

The husband had filed a complaint at the Medical College Police against the hospital staff under Section 304 (A) of the Indian Penal Code for causing death by negligence, following which the staff was booked by the police. Meanwhile, the hospital authorities had also ordered an internal inquiry into the incident. 

The DMO's office is planning to establish a medical board based on all these reports forwarded by the police. The DMO V. Ummer Farooq said that he had not seen the reports yet, adding that some time is needed to set up the special medical board. 

This is not the first time the hospital is being a subject of such controversy, as the Medical Dialogues team had earlier reported an incident of medical negligence where a woman had accused the hospital staff of leaving forceps in her body during a Caesarean surgery back in 2017. 

Also Read:Forceps left in patient's abdomen at GMC Kozhikode: Panel to probe alleged medical negligence