Setting up COVID Care Centres in absence of medical support futile: Masoodi

Srinagar, May 18: National Conference (NC) MP Anantnag Hasnain Masoodi Tuesday asked the LG administration to post sufficient number of doctors, paramedics and other support staff in Covid Hospitals, Covid Care Centres, Isolation Centres and other pandemic treatment facilities, to ensure that the facilities serve the intended purpose.
In a statement, Masoodi has stated that practice of establishing these facilities without sufficient staff may prove counterproductive as admission to such a facility may generate a false hope of care and treatment, in a patient and his relatives and make them complacent, when not to their knowledge, the services of qualified doctors and paramedical staff are not at all available or the facility is understaffed.
“The condition of a Covid patient may because of absence of medical support, in some cases deteriorate and make the patient land up in ICU. In absence of adequate and well trained staff, the Care Centres and like facilities, it is stated, may turn into death traps, only expediting the end,” he said.
Masoodi reminded that as per available data 49.37 percent of the patients who lost battle against Covid were shifted to hospitals 1 to 3 days before death, pointing to negligence and inadequate care at pre-hospitalisation stage.
Quoting the instance of Centres without manpower support, it is stated that while the Covid Care Centre set up at Chekwangno Qazigund has rows of neatly arranged beds, not a single doctor is posted at the Centre. “The Emergency Hospital Qazigund likewise is handicapped to do testing and vaccination to the optimum level due to non availability of a computer operator to upload requisite data.”
It is stated that the District Hospital Anantnag is disabled to carry on its operations to full capacity including Covid ICU because of lack of sufficient staff.
Masoodi, emphasizing need to depute the doctors and paramedics from District Hospitals in batches for short term training courses to SKIMS, has stated that while SKIMS made use of NIV in Covid treatment with good results, the technique reportedly is not employed with that success at District Hospitals.
“The oxygen flow regulating mechanism reportedly is also not being efficiently operated because of lack of experience,” he said.
Masoodi asked the authorities to realise that Covid -19 is a new challenge to the healthcare professionals and interaction even for a day, with doctors at SKIMS engaged in battle against the Pandemic, will well equip the doctors and other healthcare professionals from District Hospitals to face the challenge.
He asked the LG administration to engage unemployed medical graduates and unemployed youth with diploma in nursing, radiology, anesthesiology, lab technology and other disciplines from State Medical Faculty on the entry level salary of the respective cadre so that they get a chance to be part of the COVID control mechanism and supplement the workforce engaged on ground, in the battle against the pandemic.
To attract the trained medical and paramedical staff it is necessary to offer a reasonable salary and not humiliating terms as is being presently done, he said.