Nurses on COVID-19 duty at AIIMS here can’t take a break, drink water or go to the washroom for hours on end once they put on the PPE. Giddiness, exhaustion, weight loss, menstrual hygiene issues, and high-stress levels are just some of the problems that nurses pointed out because of working for six hours at a stretch.

These nurses, with support from the AIIMS Nurses Union, have been protesting for the past four days demanding a reduction in time to four hours.

“Working for six hours affects menstrual hygiene as they have to wear the same sanitary pad. We end up spending more than seven hours wearing the PPE as donning and doffing it takes time and we have to wait for our turn to do it in a particular area. Giddiness has become a part of our routine now. Four staff have fainted during my duty,” a nurse working on COVID-19 duty at AIIMS Trauma Center told The Hindu.

Director holds meeting

AIIMS Director Randeep Guleria said they had a nearly three-hour-long meeting with the union on Thursday. “We told them that they can take a break in between and go to the washroom and drink or eat something and come back and finish the rest of their shift wearing a new PPE. Initially, they agreed to it, but later they changed their stance and said they do not agree to it,” Mr. Guleria said. He added that nowhere in the country healthcare workers were doing only four-hour shifts. Meanwhile, Fameer C.K., general secretary of the union said the hospital was “complicating” the matter. “Currently we work in four six-hour shifts in a day. Now the hospital is asking us to do a 12-hour night shift with breaks. Which is not acceptable,” Mr. Fameer said.

A second nurse working on COVID-19 duty said that he gets extremely dehydrated while working on six-hour shift wearing PPE.

“After wearing the PPE, for the first three to four hours, it is fine then it becomes extremely difficult to work. You get very thirsty and you sweat profusely, but you can’t do anything about it,” he said.

He said that there was no rotation of nurses on COVID-19 duty and normal duty, but it was there for doctors.

“I came very willing to work on COVID-19 duty. There was this pride in doing it. But after two months, I keep thinking was it a mistake,” the nurse who has been doing COVID-19 duty for more than two months said.

A third nurse, who has been working at AIIMS Trauma Centre for more than eight years said that they had complained multiple times to the superiors about their problems before protesting.

“You can work for three or maximum four hours wearing PPE. After that you have no energy and you are irritated and angry with yourself. No one is listening to our problems and I feel that there is no value to our lives,” he said. “Five staff have fainted while I was on duty. We help them and make them sit somewhere. When we take off the PPE after the six-hour shift the clothes we are wearing inside will be completely wet and sweat will be collected in the shoe covers,” he added.