In April, 16 healthcare workers contracted Covid daily at Chandigarh PGIMER

500 health staff members were found positive in the past month; this accounts for 30% of the 1,720 cases at the premier institute so far

As many as 500 health workers at the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research contracted Covid-19 in April – working out to 16 people a day, putting tremendous pressure on the already hard-pressed workforce.

Doctors at the institute say not all cases are coming from staff working at the Covid wards, as precautions often take a back seat in the emergency block. (HT File Photo)

A total of 1,720 health workers of the institute, including doctors, nurses and sanitary staff, have been infected since the pandemic broke out in March last year, with April accounting for around 30% of that number amid the unprecedented spike in cases.

Institute’s doctors say not all cases came from staff working in the Covid-19 wards, where proper safety protocol is followed. But, often they cannot take adequate precautions due to the heavy rush in the emergency block.

“Almost all hospitals in the vicinity have restricted their emergency services, diverting a huge patient load to our institute. Amid this crisis, it’s not humanly possible to take all precautions, as the staff’s priority is to save lives. Yet, irrespective of all protocols, there is a huge chance of getting infected in the hospital set-up,” said Dr Ashok Kumar, official spokesperson and professor at the hospital’s administration department.

According to Dr GD Puri, head of Covid management committee at PGIMER, on most days, staff was working almost 15 hours to provide care to the Covid patients.

The surging cases are not only pushing the under-training doctors into extra shifts, but also impacting their training and practice, as more workforce is being diverted to Covid duties.

“The case surge has burdened not only the medicine and anaesthesia specialities, which mainly deal with Covid care, but also other specialities not routinely involved in it. This has hampered training of resident doctors,” said Dr Uttam Thakur, president of Resident Doctors Association at PGIMER.

While the Government Medical College and Hospital, Sector 32, does not maintain a record of its staff testing positive, around 40 workers at Government Multi-Specialty Hospital, Sector 16, are currently in isolation.

“Our focus is to provide psychological support to the positive staff. If a worker tests positive, it impacts the morale of their colleagues as well,” said Dr VK Nagpal, joint director, UT health department.

More nursing posts sought

Overburdened nurses have written to the UT administrator for more posts to deal with the deadly Covid wave. “AIIMS, New Delhi, has around 2,350 beds and 5,800 nurses, whereas PGIMER has 1,948 beds, but only 2,572 nurses. This is taking a heavy toll on us,” stated Satyaveer Dagur, general secretary of hospital’s Nursing Welfare Association in a letter to the UT administrator, seeking 1,500 more nursing posts from the central government.