Video: Drunk on-duty doctor forgets where elderly patient was admitted

A hospital in Madhya Pradesh's Guna district has come under intense scrutiny after a video purportedly showing an on-duty doctor in an intoxicated state went viral, prompting swift action from authorities and raising serious questions about patient safety.

The incident involved Ajay Singh Rathore, who was on emergency night duty when 80-year-old Lallu Singh was brought to the district hospital for treatment.

Singh, an asthma patient from Bajranggarh, had arrived with his family seeking urgent medical care.

According to the patient and his family, the doctor appeared intoxicated while examining the elderly man and advised that he be admitted.

However, when family members returned with prescribed medicines and asked which ward the patient had been shifted to, the doctor was reportedly unable to answer.

After admitting the patient, the doctor allegedly forgot which ward he had been placed in, triggering confusion and alarm among attendants. In the viral video, the doctor can be seen struggling to respond to basic questions and at one point incorrectly identifying another person as the patient.

“God save us from such a drunk doctor,” the elderly patient later said, claiming the doctor “had no idea what medicine he was giving” and had not even issued a proper prescription.

The situation escalated once hospital management became aware of the incident.

Officials said the doctor, who was on emergency duty, was asked to leave the premises immediately. No medical examination was conducted at the time to confirm intoxication.

To contain the fallout, hospital authorities placed Rathore on seven days of administrative leave and issued him a notice seeking an explanation.

When questioned, the doctor denied wrongdoing. Speaking in a visibly unsteady voice, he insisted that he was aware of the patient’s treatment and location.

However, when asked to identify the patient, he reportedly pointed to another individual and said, “This is the patient.”

Chief Medical and Health Officer (CMHO) Rajkumar Rishishwar acknowledged that the duty doctor’s condition was not normal.

“The duty doctor’s condition was not good and he appeared unconscious. A medical officer was sent to advise him to go home,” Rishishwar said, adding that a notice had been issued to the doctor seeking a formal explanation.

Hospital authorities said further action would be decided after reviewing the doctor’s response to the notice.

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(Inputs by Vikash Dikshit)