Kerala: Doctors go on ’caesarean spree’ allegedly to suit holiday plans

Mangalore Today News Network

Thiruvananthapuram:  After the scam involving doctors performing unnecessary hysterectomies on unsuspecting women in Rajasthan, now doctors of a government- run hospital in Kerala are at the centre of a controversy.

On Friday afternoon, doctors at Kerala’s Alappuzha hospital rushed with as many as 21 caesarean operations in 48 hours to allegedly suit their holiday plans.

Relatives of patients alleged that the surgeries were conducted in a hurry so that the doctors could be off duty during the long Maundy Thursday to Easter weekend holidays.

Some of the cases reportedly involved women who could wait till next week for delivery.

"My delivery was slated on the 26th. But it was advanced to the 20th," said one of the women who underwent C-section.

Due to the ’mass caesarean’ in the already under-equipped hospital, many mothers could not even get a proper bed and medical attention.

More than a dozen mothers with their newborns could be seen lying on the floor of the hospital, lacking post-delivery care.

As protests mount over the incident, authorities are under pressure to act tough against the erring doctors. The state government has ordered a probe into the incident.

"What the doctors have done is wrong. We are taking it very seriously and have constituted a probe panel. We are planning to include two experts from the Medical College too in the team," said P K Sreemathi, Minister for Health, Kerala.