As the number of persons getting diagnosed with Covid-19 continues unabated in Kerala, the State’s health infrastructure is tottering, according to health workers including doctors and nurses.
The Kerala Government Medical Officers’ Association (KGMOA), the umbrella organisation of Government doctors, has asked Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to reschedule and rearrange the Covid vaccination programme by taking into account the general and psychological health of all workers in the public health sector even as reports of a Government Hospital nurse who administered vaccination to nearly 900 persons in seven and half hours hogged the limelight.
“The doctors, nurses and other supporting staff who have been working continuously for more than one year since January 2020 are a tired and exhausted lot.
They need a break in between this tiresome process of caring patients afflicted with the pandemic,” said a letter addressed to Vijayan by Dr G S Vijayakrishnan (president) and Dr T N Suresh (General secretary) of the KGMOA.
The KGMOA in its letter has asked the Government to limit the vaccination programme during the Onam holidays to major hospitals where there are sufficient human resource.
“It is better to have a vaccination holiday on the day of Onam,” said the representation.
The veteran doctors point out that since the vaccination process was going to be a long drawn out programme, it should not come in the way of the hospital staff including doctors from their basic commitments like attending to patients seeking treatment for other diseases.
“The local self-government bodies should have their own Covid-19 vaccination facilities so that the pressure on Government hospitals could be brought down. It is important that doctors and nurses attend to patients suffering from other medical issues,” said Dr Vijayakrishnan and Dr Suresh.
Earlier, the KGMOA had alerted the State administration about the severe shortage of doctors in Government hospitals and had requested the Chief Minister to recruit at least 1,000 doctors on contract basis to lessen the burden of the existing staff.
The alarming scale of shortage of medical staff came out in the open on the Independence Day when K Pushpa Latha, a nurse in Chengannoor District Hospital, singlehandedly vaccinated 893 persons in seven and half hours. Though this is seen as a major feat by Pushpa Latha, doctors expressed their shock over the workload she had been burdened with.
“Since everything went smoothly, we are praising her. Imagine what would have happened had there been an unpleasant incident during the marathon,” said Dr Suresh who underscored the importance of giving break and rest for the staff even during their single shift of seven or eight hours.