Kerala hospital denies negligence claims after patient alleges he was fitted with wrong implant

Kozhikode: Allegations of medical negligence continued to haunt the Government Medical College Hospital here, with a man lodging a complaint with the police on Sunday alleging that an implant meant for another patient was wrongly inserted into his broken hand.

Dismissing the allegations as "baseless," the hospital said that the patient was given the standard treatment and surgery typically administered for this type of fracture.

The fresh allegations surfaced just days after a doctor was suspended for allegedly operating on the tongue of a four-year-old girl, instead of surgically removing the child's sixth finger.

An officer of the Medical College police station said an FIR has been lodged over the alleged mix-up that took place at the Medical College Hospital on Saturday.

"The man has raised some suspicions regarding his surgery. A detailed investigation is required to ascertain the claim in the complaint," the officer told PTI.

The man was admitted to the Government Medical College Hospital for surgery after being referred from the Beach Hospital (Government General Hospital), where he was admitted following a road accident.

The alleged error in the treatment was reportedly detected in an X-ray after the surgery.

Reacting to the allegations, Dr Jacob Mathew, Head of the Orthopaedics Department at the hospital, said he examined the medical records and found that no wrongdoing was committed in the treatment of the patient.

"Standard implants were used. What was done to this patient is what is usually done for other patients with similar problems," the doctor said, claiming that the surgery was a success.