BENGALURU: Nurses attending to Covid-19 patients at government hospitals in some parts of Karnataka are allegedly being denied the mandatory 14-day quarantine break and deployed in general wards during this period in a serious breach of medical-safety protocol.
The Trained Nurses’ Association of Karnataka has remonstrated about the issue, seeking immediate redressal.
Doctors and nurses who serve in isolation wards, where patients with coronavirus are treated, must quarantine themselves for 14 days after their stint, which varies from a week to two depending on the hospital and the person’s capacity. They undergo tests to make sure they haven’t contracted the infection from the patients. Even after they test negative, they are asked to take further leave.
While the rule is being strictly followed for doctors, who are also provided with accommodation, nurses in some government hospitals in North Karnataka are not being offered the quarantine break or the subsequent leave, an association member alleged. They are directed to continue working by seeing patients in general wards. “This is unsafe for general ward patients. When doctors are sent on strict quarantine leave for 14 days, why are nurses being made to work? It may not be happening in all districts, but it’s a problem in North Karnataka, where there is a severe staff crunch,” the member said.
There were also complaints about a shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE). Nurses in some districts had claimed that instead of PPE, they were provided robes that are generally worn while caring for HIV patients. Last month, a nurse from Mandya wrote to the prime minister’s grievance redressal cell about the lack of PPE kits and sanitisers in a government hospital. The nurse said he was diabetic and aged above 50, which put him at considerable risk. Ideally, he should have been exempted from Covid-19 duty. “Despite all this, I don’t mind working, but there must be proper rotation of work, and accommodation should be provided during the quarantine period,” he wrote.
Another nurse from Mandya also raised the issue of protective gear in a letter to the grievance redressal cell. She has been suspended. “Whistle-blowers are being targeted with showcause notices and suspension orders,” said Girijamba Devi, secretary, Trained Nurses’ Association of Karnataka. Dr Om Prakash Patil, director, health department, told TOI he would look into the matter.
The Trained Nurses’ Association of Karnataka has remonstrated about the issue, seeking immediate redressal.
Doctors and nurses who serve in isolation wards, where patients with coronavirus are treated, must quarantine themselves for 14 days after their stint, which varies from a week to two depending on the hospital and the person’s capacity. They undergo tests to make sure they haven’t contracted the infection from the patients. Even after they test negative, they are asked to take further leave.
While the rule is being strictly followed for doctors, who are also provided with accommodation, nurses in some government hospitals in North Karnataka are not being offered the quarantine break or the subsequent leave, an association member alleged. They are directed to continue working by seeing patients in general wards. “This is unsafe for general ward patients. When doctors are sent on strict quarantine leave for 14 days, why are nurses being made to work? It may not be happening in all districts, but it’s a problem in North Karnataka, where there is a severe staff crunch,” the member said.
There were also complaints about a shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE). Nurses in some districts had claimed that instead of PPE, they were provided robes that are generally worn while caring for HIV patients. Last month, a nurse from Mandya wrote to the prime minister’s grievance redressal cell about the lack of PPE kits and sanitisers in a government hospital. The nurse said he was diabetic and aged above 50, which put him at considerable risk. Ideally, he should have been exempted from Covid-19 duty. “Despite all this, I don’t mind working, but there must be proper rotation of work, and accommodation should be provided during the quarantine period,” he wrote.
Another nurse from Mandya also raised the issue of protective gear in a letter to the grievance redressal cell. She has been suspended. “Whistle-blowers are being targeted with showcause notices and suspension orders,” said Girijamba Devi, secretary, Trained Nurses’ Association of Karnataka. Dr Om Prakash Patil, director, health department, told TOI he would look into the matter.
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