Doctors have taken the place of gods in these difficult times. Doctors and nurses are putting their lives on the line for saving thousands and thousands of patients waiting for their treatment.
Coronavirus has affected the entire world and it won’t be wrong to say that doctors are playing the most crucial role in this battle against COVID-19, be it by nursing patients to health or by researching for a vaccine.
While doctors are doing so much for humanity, they are facing equal problems. Throughout the world, various doctors and nurses are dying because of the virus and not only this, in India, people are attacking doctors and nursing staff.
The cherry on the cake, the hospitals aren’t getting enough help from government authorities in terms of medicinal supplies and Personal Protection Equipments (PPEs).
Dr. Manoj Dubey, a famous Orthopaedic Surgeon working in Max Super Speciality Hospital, Delhi took to Instagram to share the plight of doctors. He alleged various things in his stories which are mentioned below.
1. Can’t Close Nursing Homes and Private Hospitals
While it is really important to make sure that all patients and not only corona-affected get top-notch health care facilities, it would also be wrong to force private nursing homes and hospitals to remain open during lockdown compulsorily.
Dr. Dubey alleges that the state government of NCT of Delhi has issued a notification which says that no private hospital or nursing home can be closed down. However, the government has not made any provision for financial help or subsidy to these hospitals.
Considering that various people have gone to their native places and no public transports are in operation, it is difficult to keep the private nursing homes and hospitals up and about at all times.
It is also important to mention that these hospitals are not designated COVID-19 hospitals, thus, the government isn’t providing them protective gear and better facilities to ensure the safety of doctors and other nursing and housekeeping staff.
Though the government has said that the nursing homes and hospitals will stay open during the lockdown since they are a part of essential services, we couldn’t find any notification stating that nursing homes and private hospitals are to stay open compulsorily.
2. Lack of Revenue
During the lockdown, everyone has been advised to stay at home and avoid visits to even a doctor as much as possible. The government is popularizing that people should consult their doctors on call to avoid unnecessary excursions.
However, this has become a reason of worry for hospitals as well as hospital staff. Due to low footfall in OPD, the regular revenue generated by private hospitals and nursing homes is falling and they are struggling to pay salaries and continuing operations.
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To ensure that their employees are protected from the virus as much as possible, the hospitals are making provisions and incurring expenditure while commensurate income is falling day by day. Hospitals are forced to pay a fixed cost of water, electricity and rent which is affecting their operations even more.
Due to the loss of revenue, the hospital staff is also facing issues. Private hospitals and nursing homes are cutting the salaries of staff throughout India as they don’t have money themselves to give out salaries.
3. Lack of Protective Gear
The low availability of protective gear for doctors and nursing staff has been a hot topic of debate since the outbreak of COVID-19 in India. However, here, Dr. Dubey is alleging that a government order states that in case a doctor or nursing staff catches the virus due to the lack of resources, they would be held liable for negligence.
Doctors and nursing staff indeed come in contact with many people. If infected, they may spread it further to a large number of people in the society, however, lack of PPEs isn’t their doing nor are they responsible for the same.
It is good to ensure that hospitals maintain the highest standards of hygiene to ensure protection, it would be wrong to impose legal sanctions on them for something they can’t control.
Going by the allegations made by Dr. Dubey, it would be right to say that while doctors already have a lot on their hands, this order by the government has added another burden.
While we are writing this blog, we have messaged him and are awaiting a response from Dr. Dubey. As soon as we will receive one, we will update the blog accordingly.
If the allegations made by Dr. Manoj are true, the government should intervene and ensure that no injustice happens towards the hospital staff of private hospitals and nursing homes as they are also a part of our health framework.
Image Source: Google Images and Instagram
Sources: The New Indian Express, Economic Times, Business Standard + more
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This post is tagged under: Dr. Manoj Dubey Max Hospital Delhi, Delhi administration, Delhi government notifications, coronavirus, PPEs, negligence, liable, nursing homes, private hospitals, orthopaedic surgeon
