Several junior doctors at the Government General Hospital in Andhra Pradesh’s Anantapur district boycotted their duties on Thursday in protest against the quality of personal protection equipment (PPE) kits given to them so that they could deal with Covid-19 patients.
The doctors’ protest comes in the wake of four medical professionals of the same hospital – two doctors and two nurses – testing positive for coronavirus on Wednesday evening.
The Anantapur district medical and health officer confirmed that the four hospital staff, including two senior doctors tested positive for Covid-19 and said they might have contracted the virus due to some lapses in dealing with a 64-year-old patient who died of coronavirus on April 4.
Additional Chief Secretary, Health, P V Ramesh, also confirmed the incident in his post on Twitter. Describing the incident as “unfortunate,” he said the government would take measures to see that such incidents did not recur.
Anantapur has reported 13 positive cases till now, seven of which were recorded on Wednesday alone, including that of four medical professionals.
District Collector Gandham Chandrudu, who visited the hospital on Thursday morning, told reporters that the doctors and nurses had treated the patient suffering from Covid-19 without taking any precautions.
{{/usCountry}}District Collector Gandham Chandrudu, who visited the hospital on Thursday morning, told reporters that the doctors and nurses had treated the patient suffering from Covid-19 without taking any precautions.
{{/usCountry}}“After it was confirmed that the patient had died of Covid-19, the four hospital staff members who treated him were isolated and tested for the virus. On Wednesday evening, it was proved that they had contracted coronavirus,” he said.
Apart from the four, as many as 20 other staff members of the hospital, who were suspected to have come in contact with the doctors and nurses, were also isolated.
The protesting doctors told the Collector that they would not be able to perform their duties at the hospital if they were not given adequate PPE kits. Chandrudu said he had instructed the medical and health department to ensure that all doctors were provided with protective gear.
Lack of sufficient number of PPE kits has become an issue in some other hospitals in the state too. On Wednesday, the state government suspended Dr K Sudhakar, an anaesthesian at the government hospital at Narsipatnam in Visakhapatnam district, for alleging that the government was not providing adequate PPE kits to the doctors.
Sudhakar had, on Monday, protested before the media regarding N-95 masks and other protective equipment meant for doctors that were being provided to politicians and the police. “We are asked to use the same mask for 15 days before asking for a fresh mask. How can we treat patients risking our lives?” he asked.
As the video of his comments went viral on social media, the state government ordered a probe into his allegations and suspended Sudhakar on disciplinary grounds. The local police also booked a case against the doctor on charges of abusing the government.
Narsipatnam MLA P Uma Shankar Ganesh alleged that the doctor had made baseless allegations at the behest of TDP leader and former minister Ch Ayyanna Patrudu.
Sudhakar told reporters that he stood by his allegations. “We are working round-the-clock risking our lives. I only spoke the truth and did not make any derogatory comments against the government,” he said.
Telugu Desam Party president and former chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Thursday wrote a letter to the chief minister requesting that the suspension of Sudhakar be revoked, as he was only highlighting the lack of sufficient protective equipment for doctors.
He pointed out that four medical professionals in Anantapur had tested positive for coronavirus while discharging their duties to treat the patients. “When the doctors are risking their lives in the battle against Covid-19, the government is demotivating them instead of giving greater encouragement. The government should give N95 masks, gloves, full-sleeve gowns and eye-shield goggles to doctors at least now,” Naidu said.