JALANDHAR: Nursing staff at the frontline of the fight against the novel coronavirus at an isolation centre for Covid-19 patients in Civil Hospital Phagwara on Wednesday protested outside the office of the medical superintendent to red-flag the lack of personal protective equipment (PPEs), which puts them at an increased risk of infection. According to WHO guidelines, PPEs include gloves, masks, gowns or coveralls and respirators, such as N95 masks.
The 550-bed Civil Hospital in Jalandhar is a designated centre for treating Covid-19 patients and the biggest civil hospital in the state after medical colleges.The nurses,raised slogans ouside the medical superintendent’s office, and demanded PPEs for staff handling Covid-19 cases. They also revealed that contractual staff was being paid Rs 10,000-12,000, but had to handle high-risk patients.
They said that only three PPE kits were provided in a shift when three doctors, four nurses, two sweepers and two Class IV staff were on duty. “We are told that one PPE kit would be used by a doctor, one by a nurse and one by a sweeper,” nurses said.
Nurses without PPE cover in isolation ward
Doctors don’t even enter the ward and advise through notes, only the nurses interact with the patients. If one nurse wears the PPE kit, she has to look after all the patients in a shift and If the other three unprotected nurses come near the patient, they are at great risk of infection,” the nurses said.
Another nurse revealed that the latest patient to be confirmed virus-positive was in the same isolation ward where the nurses are not duty without PPEs.A male staffer said they don’t get foot wraps and he uses polythene bags to protect himself. The nurses argued that if the doctors are not entering the ward, they should allow one more nurse to wear the PPE to improve working and reduce exposure to infection. Medical Superintendent Dr Mandeep Kaur neither answered calls nor responded to text messages regarding the staff ’s allegations “of inadequate PPE kits and doctors not visiting patients in routine”.
The 550-bed Civil Hospital in Jalandhar is a designated centre for treating Covid-19 patients and the biggest civil hospital in the state after medical colleges.The nurses,raised slogans ouside the medical superintendent’s office, and demanded PPEs for staff handling Covid-19 cases. They also revealed that contractual staff was being paid Rs 10,000-12,000, but had to handle high-risk patients.
They said that only three PPE kits were provided in a shift when three doctors, four nurses, two sweepers and two Class IV staff were on duty. “We are told that one PPE kit would be used by a doctor, one by a nurse and one by a sweeper,” nurses said.
Nurses without PPE cover in isolation ward
Doctors don’t even enter the ward and advise through notes, only the nurses interact with the patients. If one nurse wears the PPE kit, she has to look after all the patients in a shift and If the other three unprotected nurses come near the patient, they are at great risk of infection,” the nurses said.
Another nurse revealed that the latest patient to be confirmed virus-positive was in the same isolation ward where the nurses are not duty without PPEs.A male staffer said they don’t get foot wraps and he uses polythene bags to protect himself. The nurses argued that if the doctors are not entering the ward, they should allow one more nurse to wear the PPE to improve working and reduce exposure to infection. Medical Superintendent Dr Mandeep Kaur neither answered calls nor responded to text messages regarding the staff ’s allegations “of inadequate PPE kits and doctors not visiting patients in routine”.
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