SHRC awards ₹25,000 to woman who had needle stuck inside

SHRC awards ₹25,000 to woman who had needle stuck inside

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:09.05.2021

State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) has awarded ₹25,000 compensation to a woman who had a needle stuck inside her due to the negligence of medical staff at a Primary Health Centre in Ramanathapuram district. A nurse, while suturing a wound after the woman delivered a girl child, accidentally slipped the needle, which had to be removed later after another surgery.

The commission took suo motu note of the incident based based on media reports. According to the reports, K Ramya was admitted to the Primary Health Centre at Uchipuli in Ramanathapuram district.

A broken needle which got struck inside the 22 year old woman’s stomach after she delivered a baby was removed. However, angry relatives of the woman gathered outside the health centre and demanded action against the medical officers citing medical negligence, according to the news report. The incident happened in November 2019.

The commission then sought for a detailed report from the Director of Public health and a report was submitted in January 2020.

According to the report, a six-member committee conducted an investigation in the matter. According to the report, after delivering the child, the nurse was suturing the episotomy wound with a needle, when the suture material slipped and got struck in the wound. Staff nurse continued the suture using another needle and the wound was closed.

Later in the night, when the duty medical officer attended the patient, her vitals were stable after which the nurse informed of the mistake. Next day, an X-Ray was taken and presence of a foreign particle was confirmed. The patient was then referred to the government hospital in Ramanathapuram where another surgery was conducted to remove the needle. According to the report, the medical staff at the PHC were negligent in their duty, the commission noted.