Sweeper stitches woman after delivery in Odisha

Bhubaneswar, Feb 24 (IANS) A sweeper in a government-run hospital in Odisha's Jagatsinghpur district carried out stitching on a woman, following her delivery after a doctor left the operation theatre.

According to a report received by the chief district medical officer (CDMO), it has been found that the doctor left the operation theatre in a hurry after conducting the caesarean delivery and the sweeper had to carry out the post-delivery stitching on the woman.

The incident took place last Friday at a community health centre in Kujang, Jagatsinghpur. It sparked public outrage, prompting the health administration to carry out an inquiry.

"We have assigned a medical officer to conduct an inquiry after getting complaint from relatives of the patient about the negligence of duty. The officer has to give the report in writing," CDMO Binod Behari Mohapatra told IANS.

Obstetrics and gynaecology surgeon Pramod Kumar Nayak left the operation theatre to attend upon another patient, leaving the highly skilled stitching job for the sweeper, said the report.

Mohapatra said action would be taken against the doctor and the sweeper if the final report finds them to be guilty.

He said the woman was safe.

Health Director C.R. Nayak said he has not received any report yet and district health officials are inquiring the matter.

Jagatsinghpur MP Kulamani Samal, who is a doctor by profession, said the allegations that the sweeper carried out the stitching work was true.

"I visited the hospital after coming to know about it. I also inquired about the patient and hospital staff members. The allegations are true. This is indeed an unfortunate occurrence," he said.