Senior doctors shirking Covid-19 duty
- The People's Chronicle Editorial :: May 29, 2021 -

THE directive of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare to physically engage assistant and associate professors of RIMS hospital in the treatment of Covid patients vindicates public apprehension that absence of proper care could be one of the factors for a number of patients succumbing to the virus.

When this daily reported about favouritism and nepotism in assigning Covid duty to the healthcare professionals as well as administrative inadequacies when it comes to taking care of infected medical personnel in one of the public hospitals, the government authority swiftly slapped a legal notice.

However, the ministry's intimation to the RIMS director to ensure mandatory presence of assistant and associate professors in the Covid wards implies indiscretion in the assignment of duty and that it is the junior doctors, who have been shouldering the responsibility of fighting the virulent disease.

Regardless of the senior residents and doctors below the rank of assistant and associate professors extending commendable service to the patients, the unpredictable characteristics of the new coronavirus unarguably merits proactive involvement of the most adept medical practitioners.

Without their physical presence in the wards, where the patients are literally gasping for breath, it is obvious that the rookie doctors wouldn't be of much help to the other support staff.

As tackling the Covid-19 pandemic for over a year has been an excruciating experience and exhaustive for the healthcare service providers, they definitely need experienced hands to not only extricate the patients from possible perilous situation but also ensure quick recovery and smooth discharge of the sick ones.

In fact, giving new lease of life to the patients is the reason why doctors are referred to as the 'Gods In White Coat'.

Notwithstanding the stray incidents of mob violence in hospitals in the past belying service rendered by healthcare service providers and portraying them as lacking professional ethics, the Covid-19 pandemic remains a huge challenge for the doctors to prove their detractors wrong.

Even though hundreds of patients have been overcoming the virulent disease on a daily basis mainly due to the dedicated service by doctors and nurses, there is a tendency to question their commitment and compassion whenever fatalities occur.

In-spite of the fact that the state's healthcare system has various shortcomings, the healthy recovery rate suggests that the health professionals have been unrelenting from their bounden duty.

As the doctors and nurses are the only ones fighting for saving people who have been infected by the virus while putting their own lives at risk in taking care of the patients, the medical fraternity naturally deserves applause from the public and all possible support from the hospital administration and the government.

While it is obvious that the heroic efforts of the courageous doctors and health workers would be treasured by the Covid-19 survivors and their families, there is no valid reason why the senior doctors should not join the fight.

As such, the RIMS authorities need to ensure judicious implementation of the ministry's directive, rationalise Covid duty of senior doctors so that the senior residents and the support staff do not succumb to the intense pressure of seeing the patients' desperation to cling onto life as long as possible.

With the government planning to conduct mass testing for Covid-19, the public hospitals should galvanise all available manpower and resources to face possible upsurge of positive cases.