Sunday, May 26th 02:00 AM IST
 

The ward boys who stitched patients' wounds in UP should be felicitated, not punished

Abhay Vaidya

The real story from Bulandshahar and Ballia is not that a ward boy and a sweeper administered injections and stitches to patients but whether they did it flawlessly. If the ward boy followed the procedures correctly and helped save the lives of the accident victims, then he and his seniors deserve to be felicitated and not punished. Agreed that they should have been wearing medical gloves as a part of the procedure - but then, in which part of the world do barefoot doctors have access to disposable gloves? Also, why pick on them when many of us highly educated folks drive ourselves to death by not wearing helmets and seatbelts as per the rules? The ward boy was not formally trained but certainly, he had been giving injections and administering stitches under the supervision of the hospital's doctors. The poor state of public healthcare system in India is part of a larger debate and discussion.read less read more

Ayeshea Perera

While the initiative of the ward boys in this instance should be lauded, the fact remains that medical procedures should not be carried out by unqualified personnel no matter who they are. Be it the sweeper or even the CEO of the hospital, if he/she is not properly trained to carry out medical procedures then he/she should not be allowed to do it. One cannot simply 'pick up' how to treat patients, like one would 'pick up' driving a car or using a computer. The risks in this instance are far greater, and could cause untold harm to dozens of patients who are in the care of the hospital. It is true that the issue highlights the plight of India's medical system but the answer is definitely not turning a blind eye to unqualified people treating patients, even if it is under the supervision of medical staff. read less read more