Junior doctors and nurses have refused to work at Sarvajana Hospital in Anantapur district after four of their colleagues contracted Covid-19 while treating a 58-year-old man from Hindupur who later died of the virus.
The medical workers said they had not been supplied with protective gear and equipment to provide proper care, just days after the Andhra Pradesh government imposed ESMA against doctors, nurses, paramedical staff and a host of other medical emergency services in the state.
On Wednesday, four medical workers in Anatapur district contracted the corona virus while treating a 58-year-old man from Hindupur town, who had passed away due to Covid-19 recently. Two doctors and two nurses were tested positive for corona virus. Strangely, the DMHO blamed the four medical workers for not taking adequate steps while treating the patient, but declined to give any information on whether the doctors and paramedical staff were provided with adequate equipment to treat the corona affected patients and insulate them from carrying the virus home.
Reacting to this, a medical worker who didn’t wanted to be quoted said, “The hospital does not have enough protective gear, and it is not just our hospital that doesn’t. The rest also don’t have. That is, almost every doctor and nursing staff is at risk of falling sick because of this, especially among us, the older doctors, who fall into the high-risk category.” The staff said they won’t work until the hospital management provides them with N95 masks, gloves and PPEs.
She explained that the hospital does not have the necessary sanitation capabilities and equipment to contain an infectious disease. Across the state, doctors at various hospitals saying there are not enough supplies of masks and protective gear for medical staff. Recently, Narsipatnam government hospital doctor Sudhakar Rao was suspended after he complained about a lack of protective gear and masks at a coronavirus facility. In the video, Dr Sudhakar Rao complained of a lack of safety gear and that the Narsipatnam Government Hosptial district coordinator and ministers did not visit the facility to assess the situation.
TDP president and former chief minister condemned the suspension of Dr Sudhakar Rao saying it was not fair to suspend physicians for demanding proper protection before they provide treatment for patients.
The refusal of medical workers at the hospital in Anantapur will attract the draconian ESMA which was enforced by the state government last week . Officials and employees of all government as well as private-run health and medical institutes, doctors, nurses, health workers, cleanliness workers, maintenance and transport of medical equipment, as well as manufacturing and transportation of medicines and drugs, ambulance services, water and power supply, security related services had been brought under the purview of the ESMA. The AP government said stern action will be taken under the provisions of the Act on the institutes and service providers in the healthcare sector, if they refuse to provide services to the people.
