MALKANGIRI: Going beyond his call of duty, a doctor carried a patient on a sling for five km at Nuaguda in the remote Maoist-infested Khairput block as the ambulance couldn’t reach the village due to bad road condition.
On being informed that Kamlu Kirsani, a 12-year-old boy of Nuaguda, was suffering from acute fever, Dr Shakti Prasad Mishra rushed to the village in the morning. After examining the boy, he advised the family members to shift him to the district headquarters hospital (DHH) immediately.
The family members rang up the ambulance but the vehicle could not reach the village due to lack of a motorable road. Sources said, no villagers came forward to help the family to carry the boy to the ambulance parked about five km away.
In the meantime, Dr Mishra, who works with a social organisation, volunteered to help. He along with the ambulance driver carried the boy on a sling for five km through hilly terrain and rivers to Belbedi where the vehicle was waiting.
The boy was then taken to Khairput community health centre (CHC) from where he was shifted to Malkangiri DHH. His condition is stated to be stable, hospital sources informed.
“Seeing the condition of the patient, it was imperative to shift him immediately to the hospital for treatment. Any delay would have had serious consequences,” said Dr Mishra adding, “I did what a doctor is supposed to do.”
Notably, the absence of all-weather roads continues to be a bane for people residing in interior parts of the tribal-dominated district. The worst sufferers are patients and expectant mothers as ambulances often fail to reach them due to poor connectivity.