NAGAPATTINAM: A day after a Madurai woman was treated for a suture needle that got stuck in her pelvic bone, an elderly woman in Nagapattinam was on Friday rushed to the Tiruvarur GH to remove portion of a needle that has been stuck in her hip for over two weeks.
K Parvathi (54), a widow in Sirkazhi, had gone to a PHC on November 9 seeking treatment for fever and was given an injection. Allegedly, it was botched and doctors told her to visit Sirkazhi GH because the needle broke and was stuck in her hip. She went to the GH, where a digital X-ray was taken. She returned home as no needle was detected. It is not clear who checked the X-ray and ruled out the presence of the needle. Parvathi did not get the x-ray film as she was asked to pay Rs 20.
According to her son K Thirugnanasambandhamoorthy, officials from the GH visited them on November 13 and requested Parvathi to come for a check-up. A second x-ray was taken and it revealed the needle had gone deep inside her body. The needle is about 21 mm in length and 1.2 mm in diameter. Since it could only be removed surgically, she was advised to go to Rajah Muthiah Medical College in Chidambaram or any other advanced hospital for surgery.
Parvathi, sources said, did not opt for surgery as she could not afford it. Her husband Kumar died a few years ago and she lives with her son, an autorickshaw driver. On Thursday, Parvathi approached Sirkazhi GH and told the doctors she did not seek advanced medical help and that the needle was causing pain. As they allegedly refused, she sought media intervention.
As news spread, Health Services officials sent Parvathi along with a doctor and two staff nurses to Tiruvarur Medical College Hospital on Friday.
Block medical officer told TNIE, “We could not treat her at Sirkazhi GH as we do not have experts to perform the complicated surgery. The surgery would most likely be performed on Friday night or Saturday morning. There could have been better communication between all those concerned.”
The issue raises a few questions: who examined the first X-ray at Sirkazhi GH and informed Parvathi that nothing was wrong. Officials did not disclose to TNIE whether it was a doctor or X-ray technician.
Officials claimed they could have helped had Parvathi followed up with them, but it is learnt that they had not arranged for transport sooner even after knowing the needle was present in Parvathi’s body after the second x-ray. Another question is the quality of syringes being used in PHCs. Officials said they had taken steps to check stock available at that particular PHC.