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Central team flags poor infection control in Patna Covid-19 hospitals, says it will create super spreaders
TV news channels telecast the horrific footage in a loop of the body of a Covid-19 victim lying in the middle of a ward while the delegates were making rounds of the hospital to assess the ground reality about the contagion management in the state.
A Central team’s visit to Bihar’s first dedicated coronavirus disease (Covid-19) facility, Nalanda Medical College & Hospital (NMCH), in Patna, on Sunday was relegated to the back-burner and exposed the sorry state of pandemic management in the state.
TV news channels on Monday telecast the horrific footage in a loop of the body of a Covid-19 victim lying in the middle of a ward while the delegates were making rounds of the hospital to assess the ground reality about the contagion management in the state.
A Central team member was aghast to see an unrestricted movement of attendants and sundry other people in Covid-19 wards. “Such reckless acts are like superspreaders. The hospital needs to guard against the spread of infection. Else, it will be difficult to break the transmission pattern,” the member was quoted as saying during his interaction with a healthcare professional from Patna.
Later, the delegates underscored that it is imperative to strengthen the hospital’s infection control policy; and instill confidence among frontline healthcare workers, who are battling the pandemic, during a meeting with Bihar government officials.
Dr. Neeraj Nischal of New Delhi-based All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) said a strict hospital infection control policy is the top priority and doctors and paramedical staff need to undergo exhaustive training to implement it.
“The policy implementation will ensure that doctors and healthcare workers will work without any fear and hesitation amid the spread of the viral outbreak. All healthcare personnel will perform better, if they are made to feel safe,” said Dr. Nischal.
The delegates have taken strong exception to the unfettered movement of attendants in the Covid-19 facility. “The wards are prohibited areas. The attendants’ unrestricted movement makes them potential superspreaders,” Dr. Nischal said during the meeting, while efforts are on to boost the morale of the hospital’s healthcare staff.
Dr. Nischal is believed to have advocated for a mechanism to train doctors and healthcare workers in infection control in Bihar’s medical colleges that can function as nodal centres.
The Central team members reinforced the concept of aggressive daily testing while citing that Bihar has been lagging behind in optimal utilisation of its test potential.
“Bihar needs to conduct around 18,000 daily tests, which must be further increased. Test-contain-treat should the simple three-step formula to treat Covid-19 patients. An uptick in aggressive daily testing count is the need of the hour, as the state had to cope with a massive influx of migrant population amid the easing of nationwide lockdown restrictions,” said Dr. Nischal, who also interacted with civil surgeons and others involved with the bid to contain the contagion, in the presence of Manoj Kumar, executive director, Bihar State Health Society (BSHS).
