A woman who fell off an operating table ended up in the intensive therapy unit for treatment to her injuries, a court was told on Wednesday.

The woman, 58, was admitted for minor surgery on Tuesday to remove a cyst on one of her fingers, but suffered neck and spinal injuries in the fall.

Hours after the incident, the woman and her husband filed a judicial protest against the Director-General for Health Services, the Chief Operating Officer and Clinical Director at Mater Dei Hospital, holding them responsible for the accident caused through an error “clearly and unequivocally” admitted by the hospital staff. 

Late on Tuesday, Health Minister Chris Fearne announced a magisterial inquiry into the incident.

Joseph and Therese Zammit said in their protest that the surgery had ended shortly before 2pm and Ms Zammit was transferred from the operating theatre to a ward at the Burns Unit where Mr Zammit awaited her.

Soon after, Mr Zammit drew nurses’ attention to the fact that his wife’s feet appeared to be numb, fearing that there may have been some complications as a result of the surgery.

The staff duly carried out some further tests and subsequently called in their superiors.

It was only then that the surgeon who had carried out the operation told Mr Zammit that his wife had fallen off the operating table. He suggested an x-ray whilst reassuring him that it was nothing serious and that he need not worry.

But at around 7pm, a consultant broke the news that the woman had undergone an MRI scan which revealed that she had suffered neck and spinal injuries in the fall.

This necessitated major surgery, following which Mrs Zammit ended up at the hospital’s intensive therapy unit, with doctors explaining that since the damage had been done, “the effects and consequences of the fall are still to be determined in due course.”  

Lawyers Franco Debono, Marion Camilleri and Amadeus Cachia signed the judicial protest.

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