Gujarat Sweeper Gives Stitches to Patient in Viral Video, Probe Ordered

New Delhi: In a video that has now gone viral, a contractual sweeper at the Bharuch Civil Hospital was seen giving stitches on the head of an injured youth in the emergency ward in the presence of a nurse and a woman doctor on Monday.

The sweeper, identified as Brijesh Solanki, said a patient turned up at the hospital on Sunday with a head injury and despite his refusal, the doctor on duty — Indira Contractor — forced him to give the man stitches, The Indian Express reported. Solanki, who said he learnt the procedure by observing doctors during night shifts, said the RMO had warned him to not deal with patients during a similar incident earlier but Contractor paid no heed to him.

Resident Medical Officer (RMO) SR Patel of Bharuch Civil hospital said he would issue a memo to the doctor and seek her explanation, according to The Indian Express. Sources said two months ago a similar video had gone viral where the same sweeper was seen giving stitches to another injured youth.

Patient Janak Desai was returning with his friend from Ankleshwar on his bike when he met with an accident. He was immediately rushed to the Bharuch Civil Hospital by his friend and later, his elder brother Vipul also joined them.

The relatives said they were shocked to see Contractor ordering Solanki to give stitches on the portion of his head that bore a deep gash. As Solanki got on to the job, the hospital nursing staff and doctors stood aside. The entire scene was captured in the video taken by the relative of the victim. After the stitches, Contractor is heard and seen telling the relatives to go ahead for CT scan. The incident has once again highlighted the gross medical negligence in several hospitals across the country.