Opposition Leader steps in to help Vinodini who lost arm due to medical negligence

PALAKKAD: Opposition Leader VD Satheesan has come forward to help nine-year-old Vinodini, who had to undergo amputation of her right arm due to alleged medical negligence at a district hospital. Satheesan informed Vinodini’s family over the phone that he would fully bear the cost of fitting a prosthetic arm for the child.

The intervention came after reports said that Vinodini has been unable to return to school even in the New Year and is staying at home. According to the family, they are preparing to fit a robotic arm based on the doctors’ advice. Vinodini’s mother said Satheesan assured them that he would help arrange treatment at any hospital if needed.

The incident occurred on September 24, when Vinodini, a native of Pallassana, fell while playing with her brother and fractured her right arm. She was first taken to Chittur Taluk Hospital and later admitted to Palakkad District Hospital on the same day. At the district hospital, a plaster cast was applied. When blisters appeared on her fingers and the family returned to the hospital, her arm was already in a severely infected condition.

She was later shifted to Kozhikode Medical College Hospital, but doctors were forced to amputate her arm.

The family received only Rs 2 lakh from the Chief Minister’s Distress Relief Fund. They alleged that despite repeatedly approaching the government for help with treatment expenses, no further assistance was provided. Vinodini’s parents had also submitted a petition to the Chief Minister through the district collector seeking financial help for a prosthetic arm, but they received no response. It was after these developments that the Opposition Leader stepped in to offer support to the child and her family.