The Supreme Court on Wednesday urged healthcare workers fighting the coronavirus to dial government helpline numbers with their complaints and grievances.
Solicitor-General Tushar Mehta told a Bench, led by Justice N.V. Ramana, that control rooms were daily monitoring the work conditions of the healthcare workers.
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“The Solicitor-General submits that the government has already set up helpline numbers/control rooms, and it is monitoring the position on a day-to-day basis. In view of the above, we grant liberty to the petitioners to make complaint regarding their grievance on the helpline numbers/control rooms created/set up by the Government of India,” the court said.
The short order was based on a petition filed by the 3.8 lakh-strong United Nurses Association, a Kerala-based organisation. Its members are working at hospitals across the country. The association said the government had not formulated any national management protocol for COVID-19 to address the serious concerns over the imminent and extreme risks posed to the health and safety of medical personnel.
Pointing to the “persisting and ever-escalating spread” of the pandemic, the association, represented by advocates Subhash Chandran and Biju P. Raman, said nurses and health workers were ill-equipped and exposed to infection.
The problems highlighted in the petition included lack of availability of personal protective equipment (PPE) or sub-standard kits at numerous hospitals and non-availability of sufficient number of COVID-19 testing kits, lack of training in infection prevention and control and lack of basic facilities in isolation wards.
However, the Solicitor-General said healthcare workers were “our corona warriors” and assured the court that their grievances would be addressed promptly.
But the court referred to its April 8 order, which had made it clear that the onus was on the Centre and the States to make available appropriate PPE kits, including sterile medical/Nitrile gloves, starch apparels, medical masks, goggles, face shields, respirators (N-95 respirator mask or triple-layered medical mask), shoe covers, head covers and coveralls/gowns to doctors, nurses, ward boys and other medical and paramedical professionals attending to COVID-19 cases.
A separate petition was filed by Kerala-based activist Sabu Stephen, represented by advocate V.K. Biju. It said the lack of proper physical rest and overtime duties continued to create an “unhealthy” atmosphere at hospitals. It said the different State Bhawans in Delhi could be converted into temporary quarantine facilities.
