‘People have lost trust in government hospitals’

One of the vocal leaders of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in the state, Sarbjit Kaur Manuke represents predominantly rural assembly segment of Jagraon in the Assembly. She has been among the opposition leaders who have been critical of the government’s handling of Covid scenario. AAP’s Jagraon MLA talks to TOI’s Shariq Majeed on various issues related to the current scenario
How do you rate the state government’s handling of the Covid crisis?
A: From my visit to hospitals and also with my interaction with Covid positive cases at their place, I feel that the government’s response to the crisis has not been very good. I found that even the gate of a washroom at the civil hospital was missing. When I saw a Covid patient sitting with his grandson at the civil hospital in Ludhiana, I told this to the chief medical officer that till the time the report of the former comes the grandson will also get infected. If we fight Covid together then only we can defeat it. It is not the time to say this and that and we will have to think how to save ourselves. Also the pace at which testing should have been done is not being done. The biggest thing is that people have lost trust in government hospitals and such is the situation there that a normal person will prefer to run away. Those who are hospitalised should get proper facilities, including bathing facilities and better food, which is not good as of now.
So you are saying that the government health infrastructure needs to be revamped?
A: Definitely, people will have faith in the government health infrastructure if they provide better facilities. People are even scared of going there, leave aside getting admitted in such a system.
Your constituency largely has rural belt, what were the challenges faced by people in the segment you represent?
A: The biggest problem faced by our people was in the grain markets where the procurement duration (of wheat) was increased from 15 days to 45 days. There was panic in the passes system for procurement and farmers had to remain in such markets for days which defeated the purpose of social distancing. If the government had announced that 1,000 bags would be procured on a given day, they should have at least made the arrangements for the same there. In Manuke Mandi I sat there and told the district food supplies controller (DFSC) that people are sitting here together for the last 10 days and it is peak time of Covid, if any untoward incident happens to anyone then who will be responsible. Even now maize is lying there in the mandis. Who is procuring that no one knows but the farmers should be asked for how many days they have been sitting there.
Do you think that adequate number of tests are being done for Covid-19 in Ludhiana district?
A: First they (government) told ASHA workers for testing persons in each household, but people refused to get it done as they have no faith on the government and civil hospitals. Now, they say that since they have to meet the target, the whole labour class, police, ASHA workers, other government servants, get their tests done. But we say that when ASHA workers came out into the field, that time their tests should have been done and now also it should be done so that we would come to know that a woman and policemen who have tested positive had acquired the infection because of duty so that they are compensated. Now, when they are testing positive, including policemen, they give them 10 days leave but who is there to compensate them. Every employee, including doctors, nurses, cops and everyone, on the forefront should have got testing done first and should have done the same in the 21-day lockdown. We have lost it both ways. The population of Ludhiana district is around a crore and if testing is done of just of more than 40,000, what is the percentage?
How can government tackle the pandemic?
A: The first thing is that health and police departments have to create trust in people that the civil hospital is not for their harassment and those who will be tested positive will be properly treated and taken care of. Nurses don’t have kits, they push ASHA workers, who too don’t have proper protective gear. The ground situation is that doctors push nurses to the forefront, the latter push ASHA workers and when a patient comes to know about this, they are running away. How can treatment be given in such a scenario.
How are you helping people in your constituency?
A: I get the list of people who need ration from various areas and send the same to block development officer (BDO), etc and I then check who has got it. If anyone doesn’t get the same, I provide them on my own. It is their right to get food. However, I am not for clicking picture while giving ration as I feel it is not good to get picture clicked of hungry people.