Fear and loathing at Bengaluru's newly opened fever clinics

On Saturday, 31 clinics were unveiled in hotspot areas of Bengaluru to serve as a bridge between the public and the medical establishment engaged in the battle against COVID-19. However, medical staff at several clinics said they were working non-stop without taking a day off since the coronavirus crisis began a month ago.

“Many doctors on COVID-19 duties have been working since March 2 without a break and now we have been asked to do so indefinitely. This is completely untenable,” said a senior doctor at a Fever Clinic.

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A doctor at the Adugodi Urban Primary Health Centre (UPHC), which operates on a public-private partnership, explained that she and her staff had been asked to maintain this schedule for another month at least.

Medical staff across several clinics were visibly stressed and jittery at working in sustained and close contact with possible COVID-19 cases. Several spoke of being besieged by people both in person and on the telephone, even though a few had no COVID-19 symptoms.

“People just don’t listen. Even if they have no valid COVID-19 symptoms, they come here under the belief that they do. They do not listen to basic instructions. The social distancing squares painted on the ground? They might as well not even exist,” a nurse said.

However, at some places such as the Ulsoor Referral Hospital, staff appeared to have the situation at hand. “We have no choice but to do our duty, even if it means no days off,” said Dr Sindhu Nagaraj of the facility.

This was contrasted at a clinic in the city’s east zone, where a doctor lambasted a woman who arrived at the facility with a foot problem. When asked why she was walking around in the midst of a curfew, the woman said: “I work as housekeeping for a bank. They are not giving me a day off.”

No Relief Staff

The doctor told DH that the stress of manning the clinics is exacerbated by the fact that relief medical crews are not at-hand.

Praveen Bagewadi, KAS, the nodal officer in-charge of Fever Clinics in the East Zone admitted that medical staff had been working without a break. “A rotational system must be introduced, but what can be done? There is a staff crunch,” he said.

At several clinics, the standard strength of staff was six, who had between them two PPEs, plus another two for ambulance staff. This is augmented by adequate stocks of gloves and N95 masks.

“Right now, the quantity of PPEs and safety equipment we have is sufficient. But what if the number of people coming to clinics increases? The situation will go out of control,” a doctor said.

According to medical staff, clinics on main roads attract between 75 and 80 consults per day. Those on side-streets reported an average of 25.