Needle fragment inside woman's body at Kozhencherry hospital: Health minister says probe report received

Kerala Health Minister K Muraleedharan on Sunday said he has received the report of the probe into allegations of medical negligence at the Government District Hospital, Kozhencherry. The minister said strict action would be taken if any lapses were identified.

The allegation was raised by 62-year-old Valsala, a resident of Aranmula, who claimed that a broken syringe needle had remained lodged inside her body for nearly a year. According to Valsala, she was admitted to the hospital last year after suffering from vomiting and diarrhoea caused by food poisoning. She said she was hospitalised for four days and received several injections on her buttocks during treatment.

“Even after returning home, I continued to experience numbness and severe bruising at the spot where I received the injection. Initially, I thought it was just an after-effect of the medicine. But the discomfort never subsided, and the pain gradually worsened,” she said.

Valsala said she recently developed swelling and pus discharge and returned to the hospital on May 19. Doctors advised her to undergo an X-ray examination, which reportedly revealed a broken syringe needle lodged inside her buttocks.

She was later referred to a surgeon and underwent surgery on Thursday, during which a large, broken piece was removed. Hospital authorities said a remaining fragment can only be removed through another procedure at a later stage, her son Deepu said.

Meanwhile, a senior hospital official said removing both pieces during the same surgery was medically difficult and that another procedure would be required to remove the remaining fragment. The superintendent said the matter had been reported to the police and that the hospital authorities were examining whether the needle had indeed been left inside the woman’s body during treatment at the hospital.