The state clinical establishment regulatory commission has asked a private hospital to compensate a 77-year-old woman with ₹5 lakh after her orthopaedic surgery went wrong.

The extent to which a screw was inserted in the patient's body was allegedly more than what it should have been, causing extreme pain, said retired judge Ashim Banerjee, chairperson of the West Bengal Clinical Establishment Regulatory Commission.

"We have asked the hospital to pay ₹5 lakh to the patient," said Banerjee.

"During the surgery, the C-arm machine, an essential apparatus in orthopaedic operations, malfunctioned. The surgeon continued with the procedure, and the patient was discharged the next day. However, the doctor did not perform an X-ray using the portable machine and indicated in his discharge summary that the portable machine was not in the hospital," reported Banerjee.

The hospital, TRA General Hospital, argued that they had a portable X-Ray machine, said Banerjee.

According to the hospital, the C-Arm machine malfunctioned, despite being serviced two days before the surgery. The surgeon had not requested the portable X-Ray machine, said Banerjee.

Sankar Banerjee, the patient's son and the complainant, mentioned that he had consulted a different orthopaedic doctor. The doctor told him that, due to his mother's age, another surgical procedure was not recommended, Justice Banerjee said.

The patient's family members said that the doctor asked them to go to TRA General Hospital.

"We have told the patient's family that if they decide to go for any corrective surgery, the hospital will bear the expenses, and it will be adjusted with the compensation amount. We have given the hospital the liberty to take the money from the doctor legally if they want to," the chairperson said.

When Metro contacted TRA General Hospital on Thursday, a hospital official said it was a "private case of the doctor."

"It was a private case. The hospital had charged the patient for the bed facility, OT and medicines. We have an X-ray machine, but the doctor had not requested it," the official said.