Jolted by the possibility that large number of doctors, nurses, and other healthcare professionals at Telangana government hospitals might contract COVID-19 leading to staff crunch, Health department officials are taking series of steps to avoid the crisis. One among them is to keep half the work force under quarantine for seven days on rotation basis.
After cases were detected among junior doctors who worked in government hospitals, it was published in these columns that the hospital managements would face shortage of doctors and nurses if more cases are detected. A contingency plan was not communicated to the hospital administration until two days ago.
The impending crisis demands urgent attention as 33 doctors in the government facility worked in non-COVID Hospitals. A total of 24 doctors from Osmania General Hospital and hospitals affiliated to it and nine from Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS) tested positive for coronavirus.
As the virus is spreading in the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) limits exponentially, doctors in non-COVID hospitals might attend to patients who have COVID-19 without either of them knowing about the infection status of the patients.
It was learnt that Director of Medical Education Dr K Ramesh Reddy held a meeting with heads of government hospitals on the issue on Wednesday. He issued orders to superintendents and principals of government hospitals and colleges in GHMC limits on Thursday about precautions to be taken.
He directed them to divide faculty, post-graduate students, para-medical and outsourcing staff involved in patient care into two batches. While one batch will be under quarantine for seven days, the other batch will attend patients, and vice versa. “If any staff member develops symptoms, he or she should be immediately isolated and tested. If found positive for coronavirus, they should be sent for treatment and a replacement should come from the quarantine pool of staff,” Dr Reddy said.
He has also directed them to ensure that the institution head should make available adequate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), masks. A senior Resident Medical Officer (RMO) should monitor the supply. “There should not be any scope for complaints of non-availability of PPEs and masks,” the senior official directed the hospital heads.
Similar instructions were issued to heads of hospitals under purview of Telangana Vaidhya Vidhana Parishad (TVVP).