Noida: Fearing FIRs, three doctors, two nurses resume duties at pvt hospital

Three days after the Uttar Pradesh government said that it can lodge cases against doctors and health care workers who decide to quit their jobs amid the coronavirus

Three days after the Uttar Pradesh government said that it can lodge cases against doctors and health care workers who decide to quit their jobs amid the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic, three doctors and two nurses—who had been stopped reporting to work for nearly a month at a private hospital in the district— resumed their duties on Thursday, the officials said.

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Seven doctors and 47 nurses of Sharda Hospital had resigned last month without offering any explanation, said hospital authorities.

Gautam Budh Nagar district magistrate Suhas LY said the three doctors and two nurses of the Sharda hospital, resumed their duties after the administration had decided to book health care workers who quit their job during the ongoing public health emergency situation. “I am sure that very soon other doctors and nurses, who had quit their jobs recently, will also join their duties,” he said.

The DM further said that any dereliction in the duties during the pandemic will not be tolerated. “We have cancelled all the leaves of government employees in the district till further notice. They have been asked not to leave their establishments (areas of posting) without my prior permission,” he said.

When contacted, the spokesperson of Sharda hospital said that three out of seven doctors, including four anaesthesiologists, and two out of the 47 nurses, who had stopped coming to work last month, resumed their duties Thursday. “I hope very soon the remaining doctors and nurses will also join us again,” he said.

On Monday, additional chief secretary (health education) Rajnish Dubey, in a meeting with senior district officials in Noida, had expressed concern about the rising tendency of escapism among doctors during the pandemic situation. In context with the reports of health workers quitting their jobs at Sharda hospital, Dubey had said that the government will first warn them for dereliction of duty. “If they’ll still do not resume their duties, FIRs will be lodged against them and they can even be jailed for violation of rules under the Epidemic Act,” he had said in the meeting.

NOIDA COUNT REACHES 3,182

At 172, Gautam Budh Nagar recorded its highest single-day spike of coronavirus cases on Thursday, taking the total to 3,182. One more death was recorded, raising the fatality count to 31 in the district, the officials said.

According to the daily health bulletin released by the state control room, a total of 2,136 people had been discharged, including 125 on Thursday, in the district so far. “As a result, the district now has 1,011 active cases,” the bulletin stated.

On the other hand, the district achieved less than 60% of its target of collecting 4,000 samples in a day on the seventh day of the 10-day massive surveillance drive on Thursday.

GB Nagar acting district surveillance officer Dr Manoj Kushwaha said that they were targetting their samples, which was 2,310 on Thursday, using different methods, including on-site rapid antigen kits, TrueNat machines, and lab-based reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) tests.