Amritsar medical college orders 5,000 PPE kits

Tribune News Service
Amritsar, April 6

Lok Sabha member Gurjit Singh Aujla visited the hospital and interacted with employees to mitigate the fears of health employees working at Government Medical College, who complained of the non-availability of face masks, sanitisers and PPE kits.

Aujla said an order for 5,000 PPE kits has been placed and it would be made available within one or two days. He said all employees — doctors, nurses, paramedics — working at isolation and emergency wards would be provided with the safety gear.

“It is only after the tests are conducted, that we get to know that a patient is positive or negative. The fears of medical staff are genuine and will be addressed,” he said.

As the employees of different cadres were raising their issues, a female employee asked the MP to refrain his party’s MLAs and minister from getting duties of some people cancelled. Earlier too, it had been reported that ‘resourceful’ employees were trying to stay away from duties during the present crisis and contractual or junior staff were managing the affairs.

Aujla said a fair duty roaster would be prepared, wherein all employees would have rotational duties. Addressing the contractual nurses who are at the forefront of medical emergency and have been earlier denied N95 masks and PPE kits, Aujla said, “After the crisis is over, I will personally take up their permanent employment issue with the government and ensure that their services are regularised.”

On the questions being raised upon the sincerity of the management, despite the government allocating funds in purchasing enough masks and PPE kits, Aujla said earlier procurement procedure was cumbersome and it resulted in some delays.

The general public’s faith in government hospital had gone down with deceased Hazoori Ragi Bhai Nirmal Singh Khalsa and other patients’ audio recording regarding the treatment they received, which came out in public domain. At least five patients had yesterday preferred treatment at a private hospital instead of GMC. Now, it remains to be seen if the government will be successful in winning the trust of the general public or not.