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Coronavirus lockdown: Ludhiana doctors raise concern over ‘poor quality PPE kits’
In a letter to civil surgeon, surgeon Dr Milind Verma said the kits provided to doctors are of substandard quality, and their eyewear and shoe cores are torn
Day after a former house surgeon tested positive for coronavirus, a surgeon of Ludhiana civil hospital has highlighted the issue of the poor quality of personal protective equipment (PPE) kits issued to the doctors.
In a letter referred to civil surgeon, Dr Milind Verma said the kits are of substandard quality, eyewear and shoe cores are torn, thus, exposing the staff to infection. In the letter, Dr Verma also mentioned an incident wherein a hospital staff had fallen unconscious while she was wearing a PPE kit and collecting samples.
Meanwhile, civil surgeon Dr Rajesh Bagga said that soon after receiving the letter, the PPE kits were replaced by the officials concerned.
DOCTORS AWAIT INSTALLATION OF ACs
The doctors deployed on coronavirus duty at the civil hospital have also complained that wearing PPE kits amid the rising temperatures takes a toll on their health. “Recently, deputy commissioner (DC) Pradeep Agrawal had visited the unit and giveb air conditioners (ACs) to the hospital. It has been over a week, but the devices have not been installed due to which we are forced to work in the extreme heat,” they said.
Earlier, authenticity and accuracy of rapid testing kits had come under the scanner after three people, who had tested positive during the rapid test, were found negative for the coronavirus in the reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction test.
After conducting 350 tests, the district administration had suspended the much-hyped testing process following government directions on April 22.
97 ACTIVE CASES IN DISTRICT
DC Pradeep Agrawal said that presently, a total of 97 active coronavirus patients (all residents of Ludhiana) are left and their health is improving. “Till date, the district administration has collected a total of 3,253 samples out of which 128 (110 from Ludhiana and 18 from other districts) are positive. Eight patients have been cured and five deaths have been reported so far,” he said.
