BHUBANESWAR: The government on Thursday directed all its hospitals to ensure patients visiting the facilities are treated only by designated healthcare professionals. The direction came after a video of a security guard checking the blood pressure of a patient at the government hospital at Hinjili in Ganjam district, the constituency of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, went viral on social media.
After a probe into the matter, it came to fore that the security guard was helping the on-duty doctor in checking the patient’s blood pressure and was tying the cuff on her wrist. “Since tying the cuff was not a part of the security guard’s duty, it sends a wrong and misleading message regarding healthcare services being provided in the State.
The government has taken serious note of the incident and due care will be taken to ensure such incidents are not repeated at any government hospital in future,” said Additional Chief Secretary of Health PK Mohapatra. The districts officials have been warned of stringent action if any such incident is reported in future, he added.
Mohapatra asked Directors of Capital Hospital and Rourkela Government Hospital (RGH), CDMOs and superintendents of government medical college and hospitals not to engage any non-healthcare personnel in assisting doctors or paramedics in treatment of patients.