Nurses of the MKCG Medical College and Hospital in Odisha’s Berhampur held a demonstration in front of the office of the Superintendent of the Medical College on Monday, demanding proper personal protective equipment (PPE) while performing COVID-19 duty as well as better quarantine facilities when they returned from the local COVID-19 hospital.
Their colleagues also held a peaceful demonstration at the COVID-19 hospital at Sitalapalli on the outskirts of Berhampur. Nurses from the MKCG Medical College and Hospital were deputed to this COVID-19 facility meant for patients from Ganjam district.
Stir called off
After a few hours of demonstration, they called off their stir following discussions with the Berhampur Sub-Collector Shinde Dattatreya Bhausaheb, and the Medical College Superintendent and in-charge of the COVID-19 hospital. The Sub-Collector promised immediate measures to alleviate their problems as early as possible. It was decided to use the post-graduate hostel on the MKCG Medical College campus as a quarantine centre for nurses returning from COVID-19 duty.
The nurses sat in protest in front of office of the Superintendent at the MKCG Medical College and Hospital from Monday morning. They alleged that they were yet to get adequate numbers of PPE of different sizes. They demanded masks of a high standard masks, and gloves, as they had to work in COVID-19 wards for long hours. According to them, the Sitalapalli COVID-19 hospital lacked proper drinking water facilities. They had also wanted better accommodation and infrastructure for their 14-day compulsory quarantine period when they return from COVID-19 duty.
Ganjam district is a major COVID-19 hotspot in Odisha, with the identification of 154 positive cases till Monday evening.
