Sweeper turns doctor: UP orders DG-level inquiry

New Delhi: Reflecting the sorry state of healthcare in two government hospitals in Uttar Pradesh, ward boys, pharmacists and sweepers have been found administering injections and stitching wounds of patients.

The UP government on Wednesday ordered a Director General-level inquiry into the incident.

After a technician doubled up as doctor in Bulandshahar, a sweeper is now caught on camera attending to patients in the emergency ward of a government hospital in Ballia.

Bulandshahar has only 50 per cent of required doctors. Across India, there\'s a shortage of 6.12 lakh allopathic doctors.

"I am a sweeper and I help in emergency," Rajkumar, the sweeper says.

But the relatives of those handled by these unskilled workers aren't amused.

But the spate of such reports is just the tip of the iceberg. There's a severe shortage of doctors and nursing staff in government hospitals in rural areas across India.

Sources told CNN-IBN that Bulandshahar has only 50 per cent of required doctors. Across India, there's a shortage of 6.12 lakh allopathic doctors.

And when it comes to nurses and other medical technicians, the shortage of staff is even more acute. Across India there's a shortage of 10 lakh nurses

At this rate, it will take India at least 17 more years before achieving the WHO recommended norm of one doctor per 1,000 people.

These two stories have brought in focus the abysmal state of health care in UP.

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