Surgical equipment in abdomen: doctor suspended

In the incident wherein a surgical instrument (forceps) was found to have been retained in the body of a woman who underwent surgery at Alappuzha Government medical College hospital five years ago, the Director of Medical Education suspended J. Shahida, the gynaecologist who performed the surgery, as well as P.S. Dhanya, the nurse who had been part of the surgical team, with immediate effect. The suspension orders were issued on Friday night on the basis of a preliminary inquiry report on the incident submitted by Principal of Government Alapuzha Medical College B. Padmakumar

Dr. Shahida is at present Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at SAT Hospital. P.S. Dhanya is the Grade 1 Nursing Officer at the Alappuzha Medical College.