Mumbai: 2 Gynaecologists booked for allegedly leaving surgical mop inside patient while performing hysterectomy
Mumbai: Two Mumbai-based gynaecologists have been booked under the charges of negligence for leaving a surgical mop inside the body of a patient while performing a hysterectomy.
The FIR was lodged based on the report of an expert panel from Grant Government Medical College as the panel indicated that the doctors have been negligent.
The son of the deceased stated that the patient was suffering from abdominal pain and excessive menstrual bleeding and was undergoing treatment at a Malad-based hospital almost two years ago.
The deceased was a 45-year-old who sought treatment in a Malar-based private hospital as she was suffering from severe menstrual bleeding. The doctors performed a hysterectomy on her on January 13, 2019.
Even after her discharge, the abdominal pain continued; hence, his son again consulted the doctor who assured that the pain was nothing serious and it would get better with time. The doctor also prescribed her some antibiotics. However, the pain still remained the same.
According to the daily, the patient's son was supposed to get married in their hometown in Rajasthan so the whole family travelled there. But the patient's condition declined and they consulted a physician who again prescribed some antibiotics but in vain. On May 16th the patient was taken to another hospital at Udaipur as she developed a fever and started vomiting.
Times of India reports that the facility conducted a CT scan on the patient which revealed that there was a surgical mop inside her body. The patient had to spend another two months in various hospitals while the family had to struggle to maintain the treatment and to pay the bills. Despite the best efforts, the patient passed away on July 26th at her home.
Meanwhile, the son of the deceased submitted a complaint letter to the police. "The protocol in cases of this nature is to send all documents to an experts' panel at Grant Medical College. If the panel finds a doctor negligent, only then is an FIR registered," said investigating officer Amol Shinde.
The son of the deceased told Times of India, " She underwent a surgery which was videographed. Doctors took out the surgical mop and told us about the extent of the infection".
2 years after the complaint, gynaecologiststhe medical committee submitted its report following which the gynaecologists were proven to be negligent.
The police have registered the FIR on March 1st against the accused doctors under the relevant sections of IPC. This is not an exclusive event, previously a similar incident occurred in 2008 also where a surgical mop was found inside the body of a patient at the same Hospital, reports the daily.
Commenting on the case, advocate Tanya Jha, representing the petitioner told the Times of India, "There is a need for courts to direct the administration to formulate appropriate guidelines pertaining to medical negligence cases. The experts' panel could add a judicial member in addition to doctors, which would bring transparency to the process. As the police are yet to make any arrest, we may approach Bombay high court with a PIL (public interest litigation) for speedy disposal of such cases."
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