Bihar A case reported from Bagaha in West Champaran district is raising serious questions on the health system of the state. Where a security guard was seen treating a patient inside a government hospital.
A picture of Bagaha Sub-Divisional Hospital is becoming increasingly viral on social media. In the video, a security guard is seen stitching the wounds of an injured patient inside the minor operation theater of the hospital. Generally, only trained doctors and nursing staff are allowed to enter such sensitive places, but here the guard was seen doing treatment bypassing the rules, due to which the concern regarding the safety of the patients has increased.
What is the whole matter?
According to Mint report, this incident happened when several people injured in a road accident were brought to the hospital. The accident occurred due to a head-on collision between a tempo and a pickup van, in which the collision was so severe that the pickup van overturned and many people including its driver were injured. After the accident the tempo driver fled from the spot. With the help of local people, the injured were immediately taken to Bagaha Sub-Divisional Hospital.
This incident happened inside the hospital during this emergency situation. Injured pickup driver Wasim Akhtar and another victim Surendra Pasi claimed that their wounds were stitched by a security guard. He told that doctors were present in the hospital at that time, but due to shortage of staff, the help of guards was taken. The victims termed it as serious negligence and said that treatment by a person without training could have put their lives in danger.
Shortage of staff in the hospital?
The matter started gaining momentum after the picture went viral, after which the hospital administration gave a clarification. Deputy Superintendent Dr. Ashok Kumar Tiwari said that the hospital has been suffering from shortage of staff for a long time. According to him, the posts of Operation Theater Assistant and Dresser are lying vacant, due to which work has to be done with limited resources.
He also said that the hospital is handling most of the cases with the help of General Nursing and Midwifery (GNM) staff. On the day of the incident, about half a dozen seriously injured patients had reached the hospital simultaneously. In such a situation, a patient was bleeding profusely, so the help of a security guard was taken under the supervision of the doctor.
Is there shortage of health services in Bihar?
However, despite this argument of the administration, this case highlights the ground reality of health services in Bihar. According to the report of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) from 2016 to 2022, there is a huge shortage in many important health departments of the state.
According to the report, about 49 percent posts are vacant in Directorate of Health Services, State Drug Controller, Food Safety Wing, AYUSH and Medical Colleges and Hospitals. According to the standards of the World Health Organization (WHO), there should be one doctor for 1000 people, but in Bihar this ratio is one doctor for 2148 people.
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