MADURAI: A contractual sanitary worker at the Primary Health Centre (PHC) in Karungalakudi near Melur was sacked and departmental disciplinary action was initiated against a medical officer and a nurse for medical negligence since the sanitary worker was seen administering injection to a fever patient on Tuesday, in a video footage.
Considering the alarming increase in the number of fever patients and fever-related deaths in the state, the incident has shocked many. Contractual sanitary worker Ponnuthayee was caught on camera, administering injection to 13-year-old Dhanush Kumar who was admitted to PHC for fever. Ponnuthayee was also seen handing over medicines to the boy’s father.
Patients at the PHC complained that the medical officers and nurses do not report to work on time. They also stated that the workers at the hospital claim the medical officers are busy attending to labour patients and that it does not matter who treats patients since all that is needed are an injection and medicines to treat fever cases.
Given the expertise with which Ponnuthayee seems to have handled the boy, as seen on the video, it is suspected that it might not be the first time that the worker was executing the job. Administering an injection and dispensing medicines are the responsibility of the medical officer or the staff nurse.
Initiating action, the Deputy Director of Health Services, Dr K V Arjun Kumar said that the sanitary worker has been sacked and that departmental disciplinary action has been initiated against the medical officer and the staff nurses who were on duty.