Thiruvananthapuram, April 20 (IANS). Kerala’s public health system has taken steps to regain public trust after two disturbing incidents. In these incidents, surgical instruments were left inside the abdomen of female patients during separate procedures, which were later removed.
These continuous negligence created concern among the people and forced the health department to take immediate action.
In response, the department has issued a detailed guideline aimed at eliminating surgical mistakes and tightening accountability across all hospitals.
Under one of the main instructions, it has been made mandatory that every patient should wear a wristband on which complete information related to the surgery is written.
Moreover, the particular organ to be operated on should be clearly marked in advance to avoid any kind of misunderstanding in the operation theatre.
The guidelines also strictly prohibit the use of mobile phones inside the operation theatre. The reason given for this is that complete concentration should be maintained during the operation and infection-free protocols should be strictly followed.
The special thing is that the new rules apply equally to all processes, irrespective of their scale. These include both minor and major surgeries.
An extensive pre-operative investigation process has been mandated. It is important for doctors and nurses to ensure that patients’ inpatient numbers and case records are completely filled out. The ward doctor and in-charge nurse will have to fill and sign a checklist before the surgery. After this, this checklist will be reviewed by the nursing officer supervising the operation theater and his signature will also be taken on it.
Only after all the steps are completed can the patient be taken to the operation theater for surgery. These guidelines also emphasize the accountability of surgical instruments.
It is mandatory for hospitals to do a complete count of all surgical instruments and equipment used before and after every surgery.
Before the surgery begins, the names of the tools and their numbers should be displayed on a whiteboard. After the surgery is over, they will be re-examined and the checklist will be submitted to the concerned authority.
Officials say that this new structure has been prepared so that there is complete clarity in responsibilities. This will make it difficult to ignore any mistake or blame your mistake on someone else.
In a shocking case of medical negligence, surgical scissors were found inside the stomach of a 51-year-old woman, almost five years after she underwent a hysterectomy (surgery to remove the uterus) at the Medical College Hospital in Alappuzha.
Usha Josephkutty, a resident of Punnapra, had undergone an operation on May 10, 2021. Since then, he was suffering from persistent stomach pain and blood in urine. The cause of his condition remained unknown for many years, until in February, an X-ray taken on the advice of a urologist revealed a pair of ‘Metzenbaum scissors’ lodged inside his body. Later in February, another surgery was performed to remove the instrument, exposing a serious negligence in surgical protocol.
Earlier, a similar incident had happened with Harshina, a resident of Kozhikode. The incident occurred on November 30, 2017, when Harshina had undergone her third cesarean operation at the Kozhikode Medical College Hospital. During the operation, a pair of surgical tweezers were reportedly left inside his stomach.
He suffered severe physical discomfort and complications for several years, after which the device was finally discovered and taken out in September 2022. Harshina is still fighting the legal battle and demanding accountability and justice for the long-term suffering this negligence has caused her.
–IANS
ASH/ABM
