After the healthcare staff at the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research here was exposed to a COVID-19 patient in the absence of desired safety gear, the nursing staff has asked the authorities to provide personal protective equipment in the emergency area.
“Unfortunately, an outbreak has been noticed in emergency area ward 22 and our healthcare workers are at risk and require to be protected,” said the letter written by the PGI Nurses Welfare Association to the PGI Director on March 31.
“We had expressed our concern earlier as well. But now after one of our nursing officers tested positive, we want the administration to take up the issue seriously. On March 26, one patient was suffering from acute respiratory illness was intubated by the health team, including a junior resident and nursing officer, without PPE, N95 mask. Later on, he was found positive. This had exposed all the staff of the Emergency Medicine Ward–22. Following this, 20 staff members including 18 nursing officers and two junior residents have been quarantined,” Satyaveer Singh Dague, general secretary of the Association told The Hindu over phone.
“We have demanded that N95 masks, PPE kits and prophylaxis treatment may be provided on urgent basis to health workers working in the ATC OPD, emergency medicine OPD, ES OPD, APC emergency, CCU, eye emergency as workers have to attend the virus patient in these areas,” he said.
Separately, in the Government Rajindra Hospital of Patiala in Punja, nurses and paramedical staff had on March 31 staged a protest gainst the authorities for not providing sufficient safety gear.
