Patna: A viral video showing a road accident victim’s fractured leg tied with pieces of a medicine carton instead of a plaster has triggered outrage and raised fresh questions about emergency care at Manjhaul sub-divisional hospital in Begusarai district. While hospital authorities defended the procedure as a medically accepted temporary measure, the incident has prompted an official inquiry.The patient, Kunal Kumar of Maheshwara village under Nawkothi police station, was injured in a motorcycle accident near Harsain Bridge on the evening of Aug 3. He suffered a fractured leg and was taken to the hospital by locals and relatives.According to family members, hospital staff placed pieces of a medicine carton on either side of the injured leg and secured them with bandages and rope before referring him to Sadar Hospital, Begusarai. The video, widely shared on social media, shows Kunal lying on a hospital bed with the carton strapped to his leg.Hospital in-charge Dr Abhinav Priyadarshi defended the treatment, saying the carton had been used as a temporary splint to immobilise the fractured limb.“What you are calling a carton is a splint in medical science. When a bone is broken, the affected part must be immobilised to prevent further internal injury,” he said.Dr Priyadarshi said there was neither an orthopaedic doctor nor a dresser on duty at the time, and no plaster facility was available.“To relieve pain and prevent movement while shifting the patient to a higher centre, using available material as a splint is justified under medical protocol,” he added.Begusarai civil surgeon Dr Ashok Kumar said he had taken note of the viral video and ordered an inquiry.“I have received the information. The video has gone viral. It will be investigated and, if anyone is found guilty, action will be taken,” he said.He added that using improvised material as a splint is recognised in emergency medicine, but said the circumstances under which it was used at the hospital would be examined.
