A serious case of negligence involving a hospital staffer has surfaced from a prominent medical college in Uttar Pradesh. A ward boy at Lala Lajpat Rai Memorial (LLRM) Medical College in Meerut was dismissed from his duties after he allegedly mistook spirit for distilled water while refilling the oxygen chamber of a nebuliser meant for a young child.
A Potentially Dangerous Mistake
The incident involved a four-year-old boy who required nebulisation. The ward boy, identified as 30-year-old Avinash Singh, was tasked with refilling the device. In a critical error, he reportedly poured spirit into the chamber instead of the required water. Fortunately, alert fellow staff members noticed the mistake before the spirit could reach the child, thereby preventing a major medical emergency.
A History of Negligence and Drunkenness
Speaking to the media on Saturday, the principal of the medical college, R C Gupta, revealed shocking details about the employee's conduct. Gupta stated that Avinash Singh was inebriated at the time of the incident and had a known history of reporting for duty while drunk. "He was removed immediately after the matter came to my notice," Gupta asserted. The principal added that instructions have been issued to ward in-charges and department heads to take prompt action against such staff members.
Another ward boy, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, provided further context to Singh's troubled employment record. He claimed that Singh had been removed twice earlier by the ward in-charge for negligent work, but managed to return as the principal was allegedly unaware of these prior actions. The anonymous source also mentioned that after the nebuliser incident, Singh got into a verbal argument with the child's parents, requiring intervention from senior staff.
A Pattern of Misconduct by Outsourced Staff
This alarming event marks the second incident involving misconduct by outsourced staff at LLRM Medical College within a single week. Just last week, two female ward attendants and a ward boy were terminated after CCTV footage caught them assaulting a deaf and mute woman in the hospital's unclaimed ward. The video showed them inserting a stick into the mouth of the mentally challenged patient following a misunderstanding.
Principal R C Gupta reiterated the administration's stance, saying, "We are very strict about any kind of nuisance in the college or hospital, and we will immediately remove people involved in such acts." Notably, in both recent cases, no police complaint was filed as the affected parties did not lodge an official report.
The repeated incidents have raised serious questions about the supervision and accountability of outsourced staff in critical healthcare settings, highlighting the need for stricter vigilance and protocols to ensure patient safety.
