In a shocking display of medical apathy which shows the lacunae in our healthcare system, a school bus cleaner, who lost his leg in an accident, was made to lie with the severed limb under his head at Maharani Laxmi Bai Medical College in Jhansi on Saturday.

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The macabre medical story came to light after a video of the incident went viral. The Uttar Pradesh government has ordered a probe into the incident, and Minister of medical education Ashutosh Tandon ordered the suspension of emergency medical officer Dr Mahendra Pal Singh, senior resident Dr Alok Agarwal and nurses Deepa Narang and Shashi Srivastava. DG medical education Dr KK Gupta also said that departmental proceedings will be initiated against the consultant doctor on call, Dr Praveen Saraogi.

The incident occurred when the bus driver picked up students from Mauranipur-based school and had reached Bamouri village when he swerved to avoid hitting a herd of stray cattle.

Bus driver Ghanshyam’s leg was severed in the accident and six students were also injured.

College principal Dr Sadhna Kaushik had said the severed leg couldn’t be attached back since the tissue was ‘dead’ and said the patient’s family got him discharged.

‘He was given immediate medical aid. The doctor looked for something to raise his head. Patient's attendant used the leg for the same. We've set up a committee. Strict action will be taken if our staff is found to be at fault,’ she added.

She also informed that a four-member committee was constituted to find out as to who put the severed leg under the patient’s head.

Pathetic family members told media that there was no one to attend to Ghanshyam and they were forced to transfer him to a private hospital. “There was no one to attend him. We had no choice but to take him to a private hospital,” said Janki Prasad, brother-in-law of the patient.

Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Dinesh Sharma said that state government will take action in the concerned matter only when he will get proper information about the incident.

The victim, was the cleaner of a school bus his leg in the accident and was sent to the Jhansi medical college after preliminary treatment at a local health centre.

He was immediately rushed to the hospital where the doctors amputated his leg to prevent the infection from spreading.

Inputs : Agency feed