3 doctors in dock for medical negligence

COIMBATORE: The city police have registered a case of medical negligence against three doctors, who allegedly forgot to remove cotton wool from the urinary tract of a four-and-a-half-year-old boy, after performing surgery for a kidney disease. The doctors were identified as Dharmendra, Vinodh and Kannadasan of Dr. S.G. Rajarathnam Hospital at Ram Nagar.

The father of the patient, K Vinodhkumar from Shanmugapuram in Palani in Dindigul district, had lodged a complaint against the doctors with city police commissioner. “My son V Vishnu was suffering from fever and was taken to Dr. S.G. Rajarathnam Hospital. Dr Dharmendra, who found that his left kidney was smaller, suggested a surgery on September 8, 2017. Dr Dharmendra, Dr Vinodh and Dr Kannadasan conducted a surgery on the urinary tract. Vishnu was admitted at the hospital for 11 days and was discharged on September 19. After he began to complain of abdominal pain, we again took him to Dr Dharmendra, who prescribed some medicines. But, as the pain became unbearable, we approached the Apollo Hospital in Trichy, where an ultrasound scan was conducted. Doctors there told us that they noticed a small tumour in the operated area,” Vinodhkumar said in the complaint lodged on January 13.

The boy was immediately rushed to another hospital in Coimbatore city, where doctors found a 29mm medical cotton wool inside the urinary tract. It was removed on January 4, the father said.

Based on the complaint, Kattoor police on Wednesday booked the three doctors under Section 337 (causing hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others – whoever causes hurt to any person by doing any act so rashly or negligently as to endanger human life or the personal safety of others, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extended to six months or with fine which may extended to five hundred rupees or with both) of the Indian Penal Code.

When contacted, the accused doctors refused to talk to TOI.

The city police registered a case and further investigation is on.