Nagpur: The district administration, now in dire need to start Covid treatment facilities in remote and suburban parts, has been left in the lurch with shortage of nurses hitting it hard. Earlier, the administration had to seek police help to get the requisitioned doctors join duties at the newly started or existing Covid facilities.
Sources in the health department of district administration stated that requisition was sent to nursing colleges and training institutions for recruiting additional nurses at Covid facilities. It’s learnt that some of the planned Covid facilities could not be started due to shortage of doctors and nurses.
“We need doctors and nurses to attend to the patients at the newly opened or existing Covid facilities,” said an official. “At many places, beds can be increased to accommodate more patients in rural areas from where people would not have to travel to the city, but need medical staffers to attend to them,” he added.
A highly placed source said almost all nursing colleges and training institutes were approached asking them to send senior trainees and also pass out students for serving in the Covid facilities. “Apart from remuneration, they were offered to work for gaining experience under the challenging circumstances and learn while serving. Some would have even got a chance to work under a well qualified doctor,” said the source.
The district administration is facing an uphill task to convince them to join as a bulk of the nursing students have only shown apathy to work citing various reasons for not joining the government mission. “We have tried to motivate the students, but not many are willing,” said the official.