Question on ORS busts Ballia nurses' job racket

THE RACKET MEANT PEOPLE VISITING THE PRIMARY HEALTH CENTRE IN BALLIA WERE LIKELY BEING TENDED TO BY UNQUALIFIED PARAMEDICS

- Gaurav Saigal

LUCKNOW: A staff nurse's inability to answer basic questions about oral rehydration solution (ORS) exposed a recruitment racket in Uttar Pradesh's Ballia district, leading to an FIR against 15 personnel who had been working on forged appointment letters — some for as long as four years, officials said on Sunday.

The racket meant people visiting the primary health centre (PHC) in the district were likely being tended to by unqualified paramedics, even as they earned ₹70,000 a month. It unravelled during a November visit by Ballia's chief medical officer Dr Vijay Pati Dwivedi, who asked one of the nurses at the facility about the correct ratio for mixing ORS with water for dehydration patients. When the nurse failed to answer, Dr Dwivedi probed further with two more basic questions: how to maintain proper hand hygiene while working in wards, and what steps to take when a fever patient arrives. These were all fundamental concepts taught in first-year nursing. The nurse's visible discomfort and inability to answer prompted the CMO to investigate her educational background and appointment details.