Coronavirus: Take care of doctors, health workers

The fight against COVID-19 has badly affected the wellbeing and security of the healthcare staff and workers all over the country. They are the frontline defence against the virus and that has cost them dearly. Hundreds of doctors and many more nurses and other paramedical staff have tested positive, and some have lost their lives. Personal protective equipment and other safety gear was in short supply in the beginning and even now there are shortages. Handling of patients without protective gear is inviting coronavirus but many health staff have had to do this, especially when treating patients with non-COVID-19 ailments who turn out to be virus-infected. There is a shortage of personnel at every level and the inadequate infrastructure is being overwhelmed by the rising number of patients. The staff members are working without respite for long periods and this takes a physical and mental toll. Many have to stay away from the family and have to alternate between duty and quarantine.

There have been shameful instances like people attacking healthcare workers and preventing the burial of a doctor in Chennai who died of COVID-19 complications after he treated infected persons. Female doctors have been attacked with stones, as it happened in Indore in April. Some have been spat at and many have been abused. Relatives of patients have sometimes threatened and assaulted doctors and other hospital staff. Some have been told to quit their rented accommodation by landlords, and social distancing has sometimes turned into shunning and boycott of the company of healthcare staff. The conditions of work in many hospitals are below par and many members of the staff, especially nurses, have complained of being forced to work and live in conditions where they would contract the disease.

On top of all this, many doctors have been denied salaries for months. The Supreme Court has expressed concern over reports of non-payment of salaries and said that “the country cannot have dissatisfied soldiers in this war’’. The court told the government that it needed to do more to ensure the wellbeing of the healthcare staff. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has praised the frontline warriors of health and the government has brought in an ordinance to ensure better safety and protection for them. But the government also told the court that the final responsibility for safety lay with the health workers. It is more important that the government and society do not fail in their responsibility to the healthcare staff.