A day after doctors in a Hyderabad hospital discovered a pair of forceps in the abdomen of a woman who had undergone surgery in the facility in November, a Dalit woman in a backward district of Odisha has complained that her right leg was operated instead of the left at a sub-divisional hospital.
Mitarani Jena of Khabil village in Keonjhar district, 220 km north of Bhubaneswar had gone to the Anandpur Sub-divisional hospital for treatment of a wound on her left leg two days ago. After checking the patient’s condition, the doctor at the hospital instructed the medical staff to dress the wound. However, the medical staff allegedly operated the wrong leg of the patient.
“The staff in the dressing room first administered anasthesia. When I came to my senses, I saw my right leg had been operated instead of the left,” said Jena who is in her 40s in her complaint to the medical officer. After the woman’s husband Trilochan Jena also complained, doctors operated the wounded leg, but it has left her completely immobile.
“I am not able to walk due to the negligence of medical staff. Action should be taken against them,” said the woman.
Doctors say it will take some days before she can walk properly.
District collector of Keonjar, Ashish Thakre has ordered a probe into the goof up.
In 2012, the criminal investigation department of Odisha police had issued a detailed guideline over the procedure in probing of cases of medical negligence. The CID guideline had said that the decision to arrest should be taken only after approval of supervising officer of the case, an officer of the rank of deputy superintendent of police or above.
The Medical officer in-charge of Anandpur Sub-Divisional Hospital, Dr Krushna Chandra Das said necessary action would be taken against the staff after due inquiry.