Senior health professionals, public health administrators, teachers, activists and other members of the civil society addressed a letter to Health Minister Eatala Rajender, expressing concern about the government’s response to the COVID-19 epidemic, and the recent incident where attendants of a deceased patient had beaten up a junior doctor at Gandhi Hospital.
Demands by junior doctors should be considered as an important feedback for better treatment of COVID-19 patients, the letter said.
Adding some more suggestions, the letter asked the government to immediately improve the infrastructure and functioning at Gandhi Hospital, and decentralise COVID-19 treatment at various levels of health facilities, including district hospitals, to prevent mounting pressure on a single hospital.
The newly-inaugurated COVID-19 speciality hospital at Gachibowli should be fully operationalised, and steps should be taken to augment and strengthen manpower. Adequate relief should be provided to young doctors, nurses and attending staff through rotating shifts, and proper resting rooms with comfortable beds should be provided for nurses and other staff.
Representatives of the frontline medical staff should be included in the advisory committee to the Health ministry to raise problems faced by health staff, the letter said. Private hospitals should be involved with Aarogyasri coverage for BPL patients, and there should be a reasonable price limit for all.
Other suggestions include mental health support for frontline workers, adequate number of high quality PPE kits and N95 masks, and security personnel to advise patients and control misconduct.
The letter was signed by 45 persons, including representatives of Anveshi Health Group and Human Rights Forum, Shanta Sinha from MV Foundation, former chief secretary Minnie Mathew, medical professional Evita Fernandez, former health secretary Sujatha Rao, academics Rama Melkote, Padmaja Shaw, Channa Basavaiah, and K. Satyanarayana, and several other doctors and public health professionals.