PUDUKKOTTAI: A 45-year-old multipurpose health worker at the Alangudi GH in Pudukkottai was terminated on Thursday after a video purportedly showing him suturing the wounds of a patient —who sustained head injury the previous night — went viral.
In the video, health worker N Jeevan is seen performing the procedure on a 30-year-old man who was brought to the hospital on Wednesday night with a head injury sustained in a accident.
S Sripriya Thenmozhi, joint director of health services, Pudukkottai, said, “The health worker involved in the incident has been terminated. She added that the duty doctor, Divya, informed the inquiry team that she had asked Jeevan only to attend to the patient temporarily, as she was simultaneously handling a poisoning case.
“Without the knowledge of the doctor, he went ahead and sutured the wound,” Thenmozhi said. Health department has sought written explanation from the chief medical officer, who was on leave on the night of the incident, and from Dr Divya.
Clarifying on staffing norms, Thenmozhi said the hospital does not have Comprehensive Emergency Obstetric and Newborn Care (CEmONC) status, and therefore one doctor, two staff nurses and one health worker are considered adequate for night duty.
She added that out of the seven sanctioned doctor posts, only one is vacant. Instructions have been issued to all chief medical officers in the district to strictly adhere to medical protocols to prevent recurrence of such incidents, she further said.