Odisha: Sweeper gives patient stitches under cellphone flashlight in Community Health Centre

Bhadrak: A staff who works as a sweeper at the Chandbali Community Health Centre (CHC) in the Bhadrak district treated a person suffering from head injuries with the help of a mobile flashlight after the doctor and nurse working at the centre remained absent.  

The injured person was identified as Ramesh Majhi, an employee of Chandbali court who got hit by a beam while shifting office articles in a vehicle from the old campus to a new building, reports the Daily Pioneer. 

The patient was attended to by Dr Soumya Ranjan Swain, who allegedly advised stitching the head of the patient after diagnosis, who then went away without attending to the patient. The staff, identified as Subash Das, then stitched the patient's wounds since the latter was complaining about the pain due to the head injury. Das had stitched the wounds of the patient with the help of another person and he had to take the help of the mobile phone flashlight due to poor visibility and no electricity in the hospital, reports Sambad English.

The doctor, however, was quoted as saying, "I already treated the patient. The sweeper is engaged for stitches due to lack of staff at the hospital." 

As per sources, the patient was reported to have 12 stitches on his head. He was eventually shifted to SCB Medical College Hospital in Cuttack when his condition worsened. 

Such incidents have been earlier reported from the same community centre where a staff working there had reportedly plastered the right hand of a patient and a doctor allegedly treated a patient under a mobile phone flashlight, reports the Daily Pioneer. But the inquiry teams who were investigating both alleged cases of negligence have not submitted any reports yet.  

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