Image Source: TRIBUNE

In the absence of proper safety gear, the staff attending to patients at the civil hospital in Ludhiana is fighting a tough battle against coronavirus. The medical staff only received personal safety medical kits after they raised a huge hue and cry. But sweepers and staff in wards other than the isolation ward have not been given protective gear. A sweeper at the Civil Hospital said that nobody is thinking about people like him. “I am asking my contractor and also the hospital authorities but nobody is listening to our demands. We are regularly cleaning the hospital and also come in contact with the infection but nobody is paying heed to our demands. We just get one single-use mask in a day and sometimes staff on duty out of concern give me gloves,” he said. A ward attendant at the civil hospital further rued said the staff in the isolation ward has been provided with the protective gear but other staff like them have not been provided with N95 masks. “Since the outbreak, we have been given only one 100 ml sanitiser bottle, gloves and disposable masks. Now I am bringing my sanitizer. We have to go near the isolation ward to mark our attendance in the register. We have requested so many times that the register should be kept in our ward as one can come in contact with the infection as we need to touch so many things but nobody is listening to our this small and genuine demand,” she said. She further added that she brings an extra pair of clothes with her and changes her uniform before going home and later washes her clothes and disinfects them after reaching home, she said. A doctor, on the condition of anonymity, said that the safety equipment provided to them is not enough. "Only the staff in the isolation ward has been provided with the necessary kits. The patient first comes to the flu corner and if those on duty are not provided with the safety gear then how can they save themselves from the infection. Only three-layered masks have been provided to those on duty in flu corner," said the doctor. The hospital is also facing staff shortage and now the doctors and nursing staff are doing overtime to handle the crisis. Senior Medical Officer at the Civil Hospital, Dr Ravi Datt, said that sweepers are being provided with a single-use mask and same goes for those in flu corner. “Only three-layer mask as recommended by the government is necessary for them and we are providing them the same while those in isolation are being given the proper safety kits,” he said.