On Tuesday, the Resident Welfare Association (RDA) of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Patna has demanded one week long rotational quarantine of doctors who are posted on duty at the COVID ward of the leading health institute. They complained that even doctors were not able to get hospital beds for family and relatives who are infected with the coronavirus infection.

AIIMS doctors has given a deadline of 5 days to the hospital administration for fulfilling their demands. If they fail to do so then the doctors will go on strike. 80 junior resident doctors are doing duties at COVID wards and the numbers can increase with an increase in COVID beds from 120 to 150.

The institute is the first choice for COVID patients as the Patna Medical College and Hospital along with Nalanda Medical College and Hospital are not living up to the expectations.

In the last 12 days, 48 people have died because of COVID-19 in Bihar and there are more than 18,000 active cases, Patna alone has more than 7,000 cases.

Treatment is affected due to delay in RT-PCR test results. Health minister, Mangal Pandey said that the government has taken a decision to increase the number of beds at many of its leading hospitals. Currently, COVID wards are present in more than 20 government and private hospitals and are almost full.

Dr Vinay Kumar, RDA president has written to the AIIMS director regarding the association’s demand, till now the doctors and staff were put on non-COVID duty after one week’s Covid ward duty. It puts the non-COVID patients and family members at risk. There are doctors who are arranged on other Central government duty related to rotational duty.

Dr Kumar said that as the institute would be soon declared as a dedicated Covid hospital, AIIMS Patna has all the more reasons to save their main staff from infection.

Source: The Indian Express