An illiterate sweeper doubles as the only doctor in an eastern Indian village, highlighting the dismal state of health care in rural areas, it was reported on Wednesday.
Ganesh Das is a government-appointed sweeper at Ramchandrapur in Diamond Harbour, about 90km from Calcutta city. He frequently exchanges the broom for a scalpel, the Telegraph newspaper reported.
”We have no qualified doctor to run the clinic. I have been in charge of the health-care centre here despite my appointment by the government as a sweeper,” Das said.
The Ramchandrapur health-care centre was built in 2000 with funds from the World Bank as part of a project to develop rural health infrastructure, the report said.
Das admits his ”medical” knowledge is based on his memory of his own illnesses and his relatives’ ailments, as he diagnoses villagers’ problems and even prescribes medicines.
”So, it’s a Crocin for fever and Enterozyme for an upset stomach,” he said. ”I have seen them prescribed by doctors for these particular symptoms.”
Das claimed to ”update” his expertise by consulting medical stores.
”I know my limitations and can only handle small cases. I have even taken care of boils with scalpels without any help,” he said.
Daud Ali Ghorami, who donated the land for the centre, said: ”I had felt the need for a hospital so that the poor and needy could get proper health care. Now I doubt it will ever function properly.”
Government officials claimed they were ”not aware” of the situation in Ramchandrapur, but would ask local health officers to investigate. — Sapa-DPA