The Delhi government on Thursday said it will provide accommodation for nurses of Lok Nayak Hospital on COVID-19 duty at Gujarat Samaj Sadan in Civil Lines, said officials.
On Thursday, The Hindu had published a story on the lack of facilities for Lok Nayak Hospital nurses on COVID-19 duty. CPI (M) politburo member Brinda Karat said she had earlier spoken to Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain after she got a distress call from the nurses on lack of facilities and also sent a letter to him on the issue.
“We had acquired 60 rooms in Gujarat Samaj Sadan. Now, it is the prerogative of the Medical Superintendent of the hospital on how to allot these rooms to the nurses,” an official said.
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On March 30, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had announced that the government had arranged 100 individual rooms in The Lalit, a five-star hotel, for the doctors who are treating in COVID-19 wards.
However, this facility was not available for nurses, who had to instead share rooms and bathrooms with multiple people and were afraid of the “risk” of getting infected by the virus.
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Also, though Delhi has a 14-day work and 14-day quarantine plan for health workers and medical professionals, who are on novel COVID-19 duty, multiple nurses said they quarantined themselves at their houses due to the “lack” of facilities in the hospital premises. “They [nurses] are put in a hall with beds, no privacy, not even a curtain in between the beds — like an open dormitory. Those in quarantine and those on duty share the same space. This is a serious health hazard and a disaster in the making. Those in quarantine must have fully isolated facilities. This hall has just two toilets and no separate bathing space,” Ms. Karat had said in a letter to the Health Minister.
The nurses’ association of Lok Nayak Hospital had also sent multiple emails to the Chief Minister and Union Health Minister, requesting to provide better facilities.