The recent incident at Thiruvananthapuram Medical College Hospital (MCH), where a post-surgical patient developed maggot infestation on his leg after being moved from the ICU to the general ward, requires more than token disciplinary action against a single junior staff member.
It calls for a high-level medical and clinical audit that comprehensively examines all aspects of patient care in medical college hospitals – surgical protocols in operation theatres, post-operative wound care routines, scheduled clinical examinations, ward hygiene, and infection control standards, said B. Ekbal, public health expert and a former alumnus of the institution.
Expressing his anguish and acute sense of collective guilt over the incident, Dr. Ekbal, said that scapegoating those at the bottom of the hierarchy, while leaving the structural and systemic conditions that enable such neglect intact, is unlikely to bring in any change.
Normally, ward patients at a major teaching hospital like Thiruvananthapuram MCH are monitored by a dedicated medical team comprising house surgeons, postgraduate students, and junior doctors. This is supplemented by detailed daily ward rounds conducted by the unit chief, senior doctors, and nursing staff.
The fact that a patient’s wound deteriorated to the extent that it got maggot infestation and that it went unnoticed despite so many layers of oversight, reflects a systemic failure, Dr. Ekbal said.
Clear, enforceable protocols for post-operative follow-up care must be established, and the Health department must put in place robust monitoring and accountability mechanisms to ensure these standards are upheld at every level, he said.
While accountability is vital, the recurring incidents of so-called medical errors and negligence in the State’s government hospitals must be examined within the context of a highly complex, high-pressure environment where even the most competent professionals can falter.
Need reliable processes
In complex systems, excellence depends not just on expertise, but on reliable processes. Most clinical errors emerge from overwhelming workloads, staff shortages, communication gaps, and cognitive overload.
Patient safety, therefore, cannot rest on the shoulders of an individual; it is a collective responsibility demanding coordinated teamwork among doctors, nurses, technicians, and administrators. The systematic use of checklists, listing out what to do at each point in patient care, can prevent many medical errors, he suggested.
Dr. Ekbal pointed out that if the State’s health system cannot match its investments in physical infrastructure with a genuine commitment to the quality and dignity of patient care, the consequences would be irreversible for all.
Medicos protest
Meanwhile, Kerala Medical Postgraduates’ Association (KMPGA) has expressed its strong protest that the authorities were portraying the incident as the responsibility of a single individual. They demanded that an independent and impartial inquiry be held into the facts of the case and that the suspension of the junior doctor be withdrawn.
The patient had been admitted on May 28 with a serious fracture of the leg, classified as Type 3B Both Bone fracture. He underwent emergency surgery and since the fracture was open and the patient had lost most of the skin, doctors dressed the wound using vacuum dressing.
Medicos said that the chances of contamination and infection is very high in cases of open fracture and yet, the patient’s wound infection was being considered as the negligence of a single individual. This was unacceptable.
They also said that once put in, vacuum dressing was not touched for four or five days. When this was the fact, the allegation that the wound was not dressed for five days was baseless, KMPGA pointed out.
They condemned the unfair attacks on doctors which was demoralising to the entire fraternity
Published – June 05, 2026 11:29 pm IST
