Faculty at SKIMS Medical College (MC) Hospital Bemina have demanded that the institute should be run as non-COVID19 facility only, fearing the high load of surgeries in the “infrastructural deficient” facility will risk lives of doctors and patients.
The hospital was designated as COVID-19 hospital earlierthis month. The faculty members of the college held at meeting following thegovernment decision for carrying out emergency surgeries of all COVID19patients at the facility.
A faculty member, who was part of the meeting said initiallythe hospital was designated as a COVID19 hospital and recently, patients fromother hospitals requiring surgeries were shifted to the hospital and thefaculty was directed to carry out their procedures as well.
“We have not been involved in any decision making. It wasunanimously agreed upon that the government has embarked on a dangerous step,”he said.
Following the meeting, they wrote a communication toPrincipal of the Medical College, expressing apprehensions regarding thedecision.
The letter demands that the hospital should be run asnon-COVID hospital only. “Our admissions will include a proportion ofcorrelative number of COVID19 patients which will be managed in the hospitalonly after proper infrastructure and facilities are put in place.”
The letter brings up the fact that the hospital wasassociated with a Medical College with 500 MBBS students and 100 seniorresidents.
“Under the present circumstances, they have threatened toresign en masse,” reads the letter.
Highlighting the “deficiencies” in the Operation Theatres ofthe hospital, the faculty has said lack of “air exchanges” which can help incontaining infection while operating on a COVID19 patient.
“Our OTs are small in size with low ceilings,” the facultyhas complained in the letter.
In a separate letter addressed to the Medical Superintendentof the hospital, the faculty has written that the decision of the governmentrisks health and lives of the theatre staff and there were very high chance ofspread of the corona infection to patients outside the hospital.
“The pandemic is unlikely to subside anytime soon, bestpractice models must be adopted to avoid disastrous outcomes,” reads theletter.
A doctor said the faculty demanded that every hospitalshould take the responsibility of carrying out surgeries of COVID19 patientsand thus avoid one hospital becoming “hub of such cases.”
Principal SKIMS MC Hospital, Dr Riyaz Untoo said thecommunication has been forwarded to Director SKIMS for “advice in the matter.”
“It is unfortunate that some doctors are trying to impedeimplementation of a well thought of strategy to manage COVID19 epidemic inJ&K,” he said.