GTB Hospital staff protest for PPE kits, masks

Ludhiana: A day after a 23-year-old staff nurse at GTB Hospital here tested positive for Covid-19, her colleagues working in the isolation ward protested demanding protective gears like PPE kits, gloves, masks and caps.
Over 100 staff members, including nurses, ward boys, attendants, Class IV employees and other paramedical staff working in the emergency ward and ICU of the hospital, joined the protest. They claimed that despite having been in regular touch with the nurse testing positive, they have neither been quarantined nor their samples taken for testing.
Protesting outside GTB Institute of Nursing Education, they demanded of GTB Hospital director Amardeep Singh Bakshi, its medical director Dr Parveen Sobti and medical superintendent Dr Harish Sehgal to provide them the quality protective gears.
One of the nurses said, “For the last three months, we are doing duty at the emergency ward and ICU, but we have not been provided any PPE kit. We were given green gowns to wear. They have told us to wash the masks and wear them again. Now, we are buying masks, caps, etc on our own.”
There have been four Covid-19 patients at the hospital, including the staff nurse. Two persons have died and one was referred to DMCH.
An attendant said, “The even the staff members, who were directly in touch with positive patients, were not given PPE kits. In fact, we have not been quarantined and no samples taken so far. We should be quarantined for one week, but the hospital authorities told us to bring or replacements first, or else our salaries would be deducted. Doctors suggested to take anti-fever medicines and do gargles, but didn’t recommend quarantine. They also asked us to wash the protective gears and re-use them. The nurse contracted the infection due to lack of protective gear.”
Contacted by TOI, Dr Sobti said, “A staff nurse who comes from home has tested positive. She used to stay in a hostel while performing her duties at night. The PPE is given to the task-oriented staff and we are following ICMR’s guidelines. We give three masks to each staff member and each mask is used four times. After 20 days, they are issued another set of masks. According to guidelines, N95 masks can be worn four times. Sampling of 21 staff members was also done on Sunday and samples of other employees were taken on Monday.”
GTB Hospital managing committee president Amardeep Singh Bakshi said, “We are a charitable hospital and running hospital with collective funding. The staff safety is our first priority and PPE kits will be procured according to requirements.”