Lab helper performs ECG on man using YouTube as ‘technician on Diwali leave’

In a shocking incident of negligence, a lab attendant in Rajasthan’s Jodhpur performed an ECG scan on a patient after a watching YouTube clip due to a lack of hospital staff. The incident has triggered an administrative inquiry against the state-run hospital.
According to PTI, the family of the patient objected to the process saying conducting the scan without proper knowledge could kill him, to which the attendant said he had no other option as there was no staff.
The purported video of the incident, which took place in Jodhpur’s state-run Satellite Hospital located in Pawta, has surfaced on social media, prompting the administration to launch an inquiry.

In the video, family members of the patient are seen raising objections that running such sensitive scans without knowledge and experience could cost the patient his life but the lab attendant continued to perform the ECG.
The video further shows the helper saying that the lab technician has gone home on Diwali leave. Everything has been installed in the right place and the machine will do whatever work it needs to do, he added, as per PTI.
The man, who said he wasn’t even a lab assistant, also openly admits that he has never performed an ECG before. Despite the lack of qualification and experience, he continues with the procedure, disregarding the concerns of the patient’s family.
For the unversed, an ECG or electrocardiogram is a medical test that records the electrical activity of a human heart. It is essential for detecting heart-related diseases.
An ECG is typically performed as an initial assessment of the possibility of a heart attack and its results are used to diagnose various serious conditions, including heart attacks, blockages, and the need for any kind of heart surgery.
After the video surfaced, Principal BS Jodha of the attached medical college said necessary action would be taken after investigating the matter and the video.