RML Hospital staff being sent to other hospitals for COVID-19 treatment

The medical staff of Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital (RML) in the National Capital who test positive for COVID-19 are being sent to other hospitals for treatment. The hospital administration has not arranged treatment for them in the hospital in spite of at least three reminders. The hospital comes under the management of the Central government’s Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

At least 30 of the medical staff have been sent to Safdarjung Hospital, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Rajiv Gandhi Super Speciality Hospital and a nurse was sent to an Ayurvedic Centre. Both the Doctors and the nurses associations of the hospital had written to the RML medical superintendent, Dr Minakshi Bharadwaj, at least three weeks ago.

In the several reminder [MP1] letters to Dr Bharadwaj, medical workers had requested for separate arrangement for treatment of the staff. “It is a sad matter that number of staff members testing positive for COVID-19 is increasing. It is the need of the hour that a separate ward should be arranged for the treatment of the staff. It is demoralising that the staff members are sent to other hospitals for better facilities,” said Shashi Rani Sharma, the general secretary of RML Nurses Union. The nurses’ body had suggested that an advisory committee had to be formed to review and address the concerns of the employees.

“This has become extremely difficult for the union. We have to call multiple hospitals and check if they have a free room for the treatment of our staff. A nurse had to travel 60 km to get admitted at AIIMS-Jhajjar. This is in addition to our stressful jobs in COVID-19 wards. If this is the situation of the medical staff, then imagine how difficult it must be for the general public.,” said an RML nurse, who did not want to be identified.

The Resident Doctors Association has also made similar demands. “We had written to Dr Bharadwaj several weeks ago. Unlike other hospitals, the medical staff are not allocated single room facilities within the hospital. No special ward has been arranged,” said Dr Ekta Yadav, president of RML RDA.

All other hospitals have arranged for special wards for their medical staff who test positive. At Lok Nayak Hospital, a three-storey special block has been earmarked for the medical staff. A similar arrangement has been made for the medical staff at AIIMS and Safdarjung Hospitals in the national capital.

Two days ago, four workers employed at one of the canteens on the RML Hospital campus tested positive for COVID-19. The canteen has been closed and efforts have begun to trace the primary contacts of all those who tested positive.

The medical superintendent asserted that they had taken good care of all their medical staff. “As per the guidelines, the asymptomatic and mildly symptomatic patients have to stay at home. That’s what we are following. All of the medical staff have been taken care of. We can’t create rooms for the staff if they test positive. We have wards. We are a government hospital and we can arrange beds in the wards for the staff,” said Dr Bharadwaj, who was the first woman appointed to the post of medical superintendent in the hospital’s history.

However, this has been countered by the medical staff at the hospital. “There are nursing homes and pay wards within the hospital premises which hardly have any patients. These can be converted to treat the hospital medical staff who get infected by Coronavirus. But, they have been delaying taking any decision on this matter,” said a medical worker, who did not want to be identified.