RANCHI: Nineteen
doctors from the state lost their lives after they contracted Covid-19 while treating infected patients, but none of their families have received the Rs 50 lakh-compensation promised by the Centre under a special insurance scheme for the kin of healthcare workers who die in the line of duty during the pandemic.
TOI spoke to the family members of a few deceased doctors and found that they were also humiliated by health officials when approached for help.
Deeksha Jha, wife of Dr Shekhar Dutt Jha, who succumbed to the virus on August 24, said, “I have completed all the formalities and submitted the documents to the health department, but nothing has moved yet. I have two daughters aged eight and 11 and do not have any kind of support to run the family.”
Jha said what affected her more was the treatment meted out to her by senior officials when she had approached them for the compensation. Terming it “embarrassing”, she said, “My husband was deputed at ESI hospital in Dhanbad. Ten days after he died, I was asked to contact Dhanbad civil surgeon Dr Gopal Das for the compensation. I was shocked when he questioned me why it took me 10 days to inform him that my husband had succumbed to the illness.”
She added, “When I asked him (Das) why he wasn’t mentioning to the health department that my husband was on
Covid duty, he said that was not his job,” said Jha. Das did not respond to TOI’s phone calls and text messages till the time of filing this report.
Like Jha, Dr Gautam Pandey died on November 27 after being infected on duty. His brother, Somnath Pandey, said, “I have been running from pillar to post even though I submitted all the documents to the authorities in the first week of January. My sister-in-law and her two kids were totally dependent on him and I do not know what to do.”
Dr Lakshmi Kumari from Jugsalai in Jamshedpur said, “My husband was posted at the Dumariya CHC and he died on June 1. However, the authorities said his reports showed he was Covid negative and the compensation cannot be extended to us. We were also told that if any healthcare worker dies even during the transit to the workplace, the family will get all the benefits of the scheme.”
Similarly, Usha Prasad, the wife of retired professor of Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences late Dr Suresh Prasad said, “My husband got infected while attending to patients and died with the illness. I had requested help from the Indian Medical Association (IMA) for processing the compensation as I cannot go around doing the official work. I have a son in college and there is no one else to support my family.”
According to IMA’s, Jharkhand chapter, a total of 19 doctors — seven from Bokaro, five from East Singhbhum, four from Dhanbad, two from Ranchi and one each from Palamu and Dumka — have died of Covid while in the line of duty. “We were promised that the families of doctors who die on duty during the pandemic will be felicitated during Republic Day celebrations, but nothing happened,” said Dr Pradeep Singh of Jharkhand IMA.
Dr S N Jha, nodal officer who looks after the insurance scheme at the state NHM, said, “One ambulance driver from Pakur has been provided the compensation and five applications are currently under process and after evaluating them, we will forward them to the insurance company and only then will it they get approved.”