Shocking video: Security guard performs suturing in Bihar govt hospital

Patna: A serious case of medical negligence has surfaced in a government hospital in Bihar, where a security guard was seen stitching a patient’s wounds inside a minor-operation theatre due to a shortage of medical staff. The incident occurred at a sub-divisional hospital in Bagaha in West Champaran district.

The incident came to light after a video circulated widely on social media, showing a security guard performing suturing on an injured patient inside the hospital’s minor operation theatre. The footage clearly shows the guard carrying out medical procedures that are legally restricted to trained doctors and nursing staff, raising serious concerns about violations of medical protocols.

According to reports, the situation arose after multiple injured victims from a road accident involving a tempo and a pickup van were brought to the hospital. Among them were pickup driver Wasim Akhtar and another injured person, Surendra Pasi, who later stated that a security guard had stitched their wounds.

The injured alleged that doctors were present in the hospital at the time, but cited staff shortages as the reason for allowing an untrained person to perform the procedure. They described the incident as gross negligence, warning that such actions could have resulted in loss of life.

Health department officials acknowledged long-standing staff shortages in government hospitals across Bihar. Deputy Superintendent Dr Ashok Kumar Tiwari stated that several posts, including operating theatre assistants and dressers, remain vacant, forcing hospitals to function with limited personnel. He added that on the day of the incident, around half a dozen seriously injured patients arrived simultaneously, and due to excessive bleeding in one case, assistance from the security guard was taken under a doctor’s supervision.