The West Bengal Doctors’ Forum, whose teams are visiting hospitals and isolation facilities in order to apprise the State government of the situation at the ground level, has recommended a list of urgent measures the administration must take in order to fight COVID-19.
Their latest suggestions include the creation of a centralised list of plasma donors and installation of high-flow nasal oxygen (HFNO) machines in hospitals. “It is difficult to escape COVID-19, such is the situation today. But we can at least minimise the number of deaths,” Dr. Koushik Chaki, honorary secretary of the forum, told The Hindu.
“You often see people on social media frantically seeking plasma donors for their loved ones; this last-minute panic can be avoided and lives can be saved if every hospital maintains a list of former COVID-19 patients eligible to donate their plasma. The Health Department can additionally maintain a centralised list,” Dr. Chaki said.
The State government, it is learnt, is actively considering this suggestion. It has already begun implementing the suggestion for HFNO machines; many hospitals that had none now have two or three. “The machine isn’t very expensive — costs just about ₹2.5 lakh each — and will go a long way in checking the mortality rate. Once a patient is put on ventilator, the case gets complicated. The HFNO machine can prevent the need for a ventilator,” Dr. Chaki said.
The forum also strongly reiterated its earlier demand for a dedicated COVID-19 treatment facility for healthcare workers. One of its teams has already identified a 35-bed wing at the M.R. Bangur Hospital, but its proposal is yet to get the State government’s approval.
“Please highlight this demand, that we need a separate facility for healthcare workers,” said Dr. Chaki. “During our extensive visits to hospitals, we find one question bothering healthcare workers: ‘What if something happens to me?’ It’s been six months now since COVID-19 began to spread, how long can you keep making them work by force? If they revolt, the whole system will collapse. We need to keep their morale high.”
He also reiterated another recommendation of the forum, of breaking down the working hours of nurses into smaller durations. “There have been cases of nurses collapsing in wards, and patients rushing to their rescue. Patients have had to remove their PPE (personal protective equipment) suits and sprinkle water on their face. Working non-stop for 10 to 12 hours in a PPE suit is not humanly possible. We need to break down the shifts and give them breaks in between,” Dr. Chaki said.