Scissors in stomach: Kerala woman warns of protest again if not paid Rs 5 mn compensation

Thiruvananthapuram, Sep 4: A couple of days after K. Harshina, the victim in an alleged case of medical negligence at the Government Medical College Hospital (MCH), Kozhikode, called off her sit-in protest, the action council supporting her in her protest, on Monday, demanded a compensation of Rs five million to her.

Speaking to the media at Kozhikode this afternoon, Harshina said all along the State Health Minister Veena George was saying that the government is with her.

“Now, that police probe has found out that the scissor was ‘deposited’ in my stomach at the Kozhikode Medical College hospital and the erring staff has also been identified, the government has to compensate me for the sufferings that I went through all these years,” she said.

A member of the Action Committee which has been supporting Harshina said that the protests for justice are not yet over.

“We have decided that if the state government doesn’t sanction her the compensation before the present Assembly session resumes on September 11, we will protest before the state secretariat on the 13th of this month,” said a committee member.

Incidentally, the fresh announcement came on Saturday after the Kozhikode Medical College police submitted a charge sheet in the case at a court in Kozhikode.

The charge sheet has named two gynecologists and two nurses for negligence in their duty.

Harshina's troubles started when she went to the Kozhikode Medical College hospital on November 30, 2017 for her third delivery when the goof-up happened.

She recalled experiencing recurring pain in her stomach, and despite numerous consultations and checkups, the pain did not subside. 

Eventually, a full-fledged radiological examination revealed a foreign object present in her stomach. The pair of scissors were then removed following surgery at the Kozhikode Medical College hospital last year in October.