10 July 2012 Last updated at 02:23 ET

Probe into claims of India hospital sweeper acting as doctor

Authorities in India's Uttar Pradesh state have ordered an inquiry after reports that sweepers and other non-medical staff were acting up as doctors in a government hospital.

A news channel aired footage claiming that that a man shown stitching the wounds of a boy was actually a sweeper.

Another member of staff shown administering injections was allegedly a ward attendant, the channel says.

A hospital official denied that sweepers were acting up as doctors.

The official also said the man in the video was an assistant who had worked in the hospital's operation theatre for 10 years and was trained to clean wounds and give injections.

Only a qualified surgeon is allowed to stitch wounds while only trained nurses can administer injections.

But local residents have said such incidents were common in the district hospital in Uttar Pradesh's Bulandshahr area.