Scores of doctors operating at the outpatient departments (OPDs) in the Valley tertiary hospitals have stopped visiting their homes “after dealing with patients without wearing protective gear, including must N95 masks”.
“The first two weeks of March went by without major precautions. The resident doctors functioning at the Shri Maharaja Hari Singh (SMHS) hospital’s OPDs were working without protective gears. The N95 masks were very few. Recently, a doctor was quarantined after he developed COVID-19 like symptoms. Since then we have stopped visiting home.
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“I have a newborn baby and elderly parents at home. We cannot take risk,” a resident doctor working in the SMHS hospital told The Hindu .
At least eight tertiary care hospitals are associated with the Government Medical College, Srinagar, including the SMHS. Sources said there is dearth of protective gear and N95 masks for the healthcare staff in these hospitals, exposing the first defence against COVID-19 to grave dangers.
The issue was raised by the Resident Doctors’ Association (RDA) formally with the principal of the GMC, Srinagar. It also demanded accommodation for doctors near the hospitals.
“Instead of carrying the infection back home and into our communities, we should be given some sort of accommodation at hostels preferably nearer to our workplace. This will prevent the spread of the virus,” the Association wrote in the letter addressed to the principal.
“If even one resident doctor is infected due to inadequate protection, the entire health care system will collapse and the general public will have nowhere to go to,” it warned.
Under pressure, Principal, GMC, Srinagar, Dr. Samia Rashid said it has received one lakh triple-layer masks. However, the doctors are wary that they cannot replace the N95 and require Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), a head-to-toe protective gear.
“Triple layer masks are safe enough for regular OPDs. However, N95 is essentially required for dealing with COVID-19 positive cases and during procedures where aerosol is generated like throat and nose examination, intubation, sample taking of suspected and confirmed cases,” said Dr. Salim Khan, professor and head of department, Community Medicine, Government Medical College.
Dr. Khan said there’s some PPE supply that “may not suffice beyond a few weeks if not adequately replenished in time”.
“We need to protect our health teams working as frontline workers and the supplies should be stocked for two to three months. We would need masks in lakhs to meet any eventuality.”
Dr. Rashid highlighted the issue in her meeting with Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh. “We have been promised 40 high-end ventilators by the end of this month,” she said.
There are only 60 to 70 ventilators in the associated hospitals of the GMC, Srinagar. These hospitals cater to the entire 70 lakh population of the Valley.
