They are playing out almost like two David and Goliath stories, Shahina (name changed) and Harshina’s ongoing fights against the Kerala government’s prestigious Kozhikode Medical College Hospital (MCH). Both the women were wronged by the hospital’s staff and management in instances of exploitation and negligence, with the government even ordering immediate action on their respective cases. Months later, their individual fights for justice continue to drag on, seemingly met with new dead ends at every other turn.
It was on March 18 this year that Shahina was sexually assaulted at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the Kozhikode MCH, by a male attendant at the hospital. Having undergone a thyroid surgery, the 32-year-old woman was in a semi-conscious state at the time, unable to react as the accused Saseendran (55) began assaulting her while shifting her to the ICU. As soon as she could, Shahina filed a complaint with the medical college police station, following which Saseendran was arrested and suspended from the hospital. Later, however, five women staff including a nursing assistant from the MCH allegedly approached Shahina, asking her to withdraw her complaint. She reported this too to the medical college, and all five of them were suspended.
But that was not all, as Shahina soon realised that vested interests would not allow the case to proceed smoothly. She told TNM that an inquiry was conducted by a gynaecologist, who in her report missed out crucial details from the statement Shahina had given her. “My statement was not recorded properly. Instead, a report was submitted to the police and the medical college in favour of Saseendran. We came to know about this only through the chargesheet filed by the police. We are yet to be given a copy of the inquiry report,” said Shahina. She added that she then filed another complaint against the gynaecologist, at both the MCH and the police station.
Another major shock awaited Shahina on May 31, when the then principal EV Gopi revoked the suspension order against Saseendran and the five other staff members. According to a report by The Hindu, he had revoked the suspension based on the findings of an internal inquiry committee. Incidentally, Gopi did this on the last day of his service.
After Shahina protested against this revocation, this order was cancelled on June 8 by the Director of Medical Education (DME), who stated that the aforementioned internal inquiry committee was not approved by them. A committee was later set up by the DME themselves, but Shahina said she did not get that inquiry report as well.
Shahina asserted that Saseendran is still in the hospital premises. “I am not able to go for my checkup because I saw him in the hospital when I went there last time,” she said, adding that she has been waging an endless battle since her surgery. “All of this has given me many health issues, including breathing troubles, but I have to keep on fighting.”
Shahina has filed multiple complaints with the police, the Chief Minister’s Office, and the health department. “It’s all in the pursuit of justice, and because this should not happen to another person. I will keep fighting until some action is taken,” she said.
Then there is Harshina, a native of Adivaram in Kozhikode, who lived through years of excruciating pain after a pair of surgical forceps was forgotten in her abdomen, allegedly during a caesarian operation in 2017 at the Institute of Maternal and Child Health (IMCH) at the Kozhikode MCH. For nearly five years she suffered in silence, until she finally found the cause for her unending pain in October 2022. Finally, faced with gross medical negligence, Harshina decided to launch a public protest seeking justice, a fight that entered its 82nd day on Friday, August 11.
It was on November 29, 2017 that then 25-year-old Harshina underwent a, C-section at the MCH institute, for the delivery of her third child. She had started experiencing terrible pain in her abdomen almost immediately. “Even after being discharged, I was not able to walk properly. Two months later, I got an infection and another surgery was conducted. The pain was unbearable. Again, there were more infections and I had to undergo two more surgeries. No scanning was done then. I had constant pain in my abdomen and even the slightest touch caused a lot of pain. My hospital visits became frequent, but they could not identify a reason for my situation,” she had earlier told TNM.
Finally, it was after Harshina consulted a urologist suspecting kidney stones, and she was sent for a CT scan, that she realised what was happening to her. There was a metal object in her abdomen, to remove which she was referred once again to the Kozhikode MCH. The object was later revealed to be a surgical instrument. “The forceps pierced my bladder, and this led to severe infection. Three days after I had that surgery, I was in extreme pain. I thought I might die as the pain was unbearable,” she said.
The Health Department soon ordered an inquiry, but for nearly two months, no action was taken. The family did not even get a copy of the inquiry report, Harshina said. The MCH, meanwhile, kept holding on to its claim that it cannot be categorically concluded if the medical instrument belonged to the hospital. “Finally, after the media picked up the story, Health Minister Veena George called me up in December and said a new probe would be ordered soon. She said the former report was vague and unclear,” she said.
Many months later, in July this year, a modicum of relief arrived after a police inquiry report stated that the forceps forgotten in her abdomen was indeed from the Kozhikode MCH. At the time, it was decided that the report would be studied by a medical board that the DMO would constitute for this purpose.
But much to Harshina’s surprise, this medical board on August 8 rejected the police inquiry report, instead repeating the MCH’s claim and stating that the evidence available wasn’t enough to conclude whether the forceps belonged to the hospital. The board comprised seven medical experts including a radiologist, the government pleader, and the Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP).
“None of the inquiries the hospital or the Health Department conducted so far has been in our favour. It was only the police who were committed towards finding the truth in the case, which reflected in their report as well. But they eventually had to send the report to the medical board because this is a case of medical negligence,” Harshina told TNM. She added that she initially had trust in the medical board, especially since it was led by a top official like the ACP. “But despite the fact that the police submitted a detailed report, proper evidence included, they brushed it all aside like it was nothing,” she said, adding that the police have also informed her they would submit an appeal to the state medical board against the decision.
She now has her suspicions, especially regarding the last-minute change of the radiologist on the board, Harshina said. “The medical board was initially supposed to meet on August 1, but it was postponed to August 8 citing the reason that a radiologist wasn’t available. What they were essentially saying was that they did not find a radiologist who would give a report supporting their version of events. It was a senior radiologist named Minimol Mathew who was first appointed to the panel, but she was suddenly replaced with a junior radiologist. From what I have learnt, it was this radiologist and another gynaecologist who had been strongly resisting the evidence presented in the police inquiry report,” she said, alleging that she had no doubt the new radiologist was included in the panel deliberately.
Harshina and 11 others including her husband had held a sit-in protest in front of the DMO office on Thursday, and were detained by the police before being let off. Minister Veena, meanwhile, has stated that the medical board’s report was unacceptable, adding that she would assure justice for Harshina. Speaking at the Kerala Assembly, she said the police would continue its probe in the case.
On Friday, Harshina submitted a complaint to the Commissioner of Police, alleging that the last-minute replacement of the radiologist, Dr PB Salim, on the board was suspicious. On August 16, she will hold another protest in front of the Secretariat in Thiruvananthapuram. “My fight hasn’t yet ended,” she said.
Read TNM's ground report from Manipur: Bodies pile up in morgues as families can’t get past blockades