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“Provide safety kits to doctors, if you want clinics to be open,” says Dr Sanjay Patil, IMA Pune
Despite repeated requests to the government for basic protective equipment like N95 masks, the government has failed to provide the same
Despite the government order of strict action against those doctors who close their clinics, at least 80% doctors in the city have opted to shut down their clinics. The reason? Fear of infection.
Dr Sanjay Patil, head of IMA Pune chapter, said, “We, at IMA, assure that there would be no issue from our end to the patients. Most of our patients are follow-ups who are now getting telephonic consultation or if needed physical examination on prior appointment. Transportation for hospital staff is a major concern. We need the staff to maintain hygiene in the hospital and break the chain. We are also demanding protective gear from the government as it is not freely available in the market now. Most clinics have reduced the OPD timings and those in isolated areas are shutting down as there is no transportation for the staff.”
Dr Dilip Sarda, past president of IMA and current executive member Maharashtra Medical Council, said, “Despite our repeated requests to the government to provide basic protective equipment like N95 masks, the government has failed to do so. The district administration has said that they are working on providing these necessities to the doctors, however, no action has been taken in this regard till now.”
He said, “Over 80% of the doctors in the city have opted to shut their clinics due to the fear and apprehensions of getting an infection. We are directly exposed to such patients and there are many people who are now rushing to the doctors even if they have cold or flu-like symptoms which only puts us at risk. There are 9,000 doctors registered under the Maharashtra Medical Council in Pune alone and we have demanded basic protective gears for all these doctors. There is a shortage of N95 masks and we need the government to provide these masks.”
On Friday, an 85-year-old doctor died with suspected coronavirus symptoms in Mumbai while his 50-year-old son is also believed to have contracted the infection. After this news, fear among the doctors’ community has only grown more, added Dr Sarda.
Dr Sarda also added that in addition to the fear of infection, the non-medical staff working with these doctors and in major hospitals fear police assault. He said, “The government is simply promising us the protective gears, but no action is being taken. We have now written to the health minister that they must provide these basic facilities before initiating any action against doctors who choose to shut their clinics.”
The district administration on March 6 issued a circular stating strict action against doctors who shut their clinics, including cancellation of their registration with the Indian Medical Council. District collector Naval Kishore Ram said, “We had issued an overall notice asking doctors to keep their clinics open, but we have also got demands from the doctors to provide protective kits and we have conveyed their message to the state. We are working on procuring the kits.”
