Shortage of staff due to the COVID-19 pandemic has forced authorities to take the help of a daily wage gardener to collect samples of people at the government civil hospital in Madhya Pradesh’s Sanchi, the constituency of state health minister Prabhuram Choudhary.

In videos shared by on social media, Halke Ram, the hospital’s gardener is seen collecting samples from people who came to be tested for the infection and instructing them how to perform a “self COVID test”. People were seen collecting their swab samples under the guidance of Halke Ram.

Block Medical Officer (BMO) Dr Rajyashri Tidke told PTI on Tuesday that the help of the gardener was taken for collecting samples due to the shortage of employees.

“Almost half of the staff of the hospital was found coronavirus positive. I had already informed senior health officials about the shortage of staff in the Sanchi civil hospital,” she said.

Halke Ram said he was assigned the task of sample collection by the BMO.

When questioned, Halke Ram said he was entrusted with the responsibility as everyone else in the hospital had been taken ill by the virus.

“I am a gardener. Also, I’m not a permanent employee of the hospital, but I am collecting samples because all other at the hospital have been infected,” Halke Ram said.

In her defence, Block Medical Officer Rajshiri Tidke, who is in charge of the hospital, said there was no other way out than giving the responsibility to Halke Ram as everyone else in the hospital was already incapacitated by the infection. She, however, said that Halke Ram has been trained in collecting swabs.

“What can we do? The staff has got infected but work has to go on and therefore as an emergency alternative, we have trained several people including the gardener to collect samples,” she was quoted as saying.