Medical fraternity to be hit badly soon if COVID numbers surge: Official

“If the number of COVID-positive cases fails to come down, the medical fraternity will be hit badly by the first week of June,” a senior government official said. “We have reached out to senior government officials seeking strict implementation of lockdown so that the frontline workers can be protected and put on shifts to handle the pandemic that will continue even if the numbers come down by next month.”

The official added that some dedicated doctors and nurses have been working without a break for more than six months and it is tiring to hear the grievances of the women in the medical fraternity. “The one-time cash relief incentives for doctors and nurses is a welcome move but they need a break for family and social life, which have been affected since 2020,” he said.

A government doctor at the Stanley Medical College said that the quality of life of doctors and frontline staff is pathetic and their sleeping pattern is skewed. There are also cases of medical staff turning positive for covid, the government physician added.

A lot of nurses and doctors, both at government and private hospitals, are fatigues due to the overcrowding at hospitals, opined former AIADMK MLA K Srinivasan. “One of the major issues is lack of medical equipment at government hospitals and at times of crisis, the State should partially or completely take over the beds and operations of corporate hospitals. Most of the private hospitals are yet to allocate beds for corona patients, the medical equipment and their resources should be temporarily acquired by the State for few weeks, said the former legislator, who had mostly diverted his MLA funds to the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital. “There is no time to float tenders or verify technical correspondence between the State and the medical equipment supplier. Private hospitals have the resources to purchase and operate at a faster pace,” Srinivasan added.