Coronavirus: Rohtak PGIMS doctor’s tweet on lack of masks goes viral

Sunit Dhawan
Tribune News Service                                
Rohtak, March 24

The tweet of a junior resident doctor working at Rohtak PGIMS, in which she complained about the alleged unavailability of N95 masks and gloves at the institute amid the coronavirus outbreak, has gone viral on the social media.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has endorsed it and so have thousands of other Internet-users, who have liked and retweeted it.

Dr Kamna Kakkar, a student of MD (Anesthesia) course and junior resident doctor at the institute, had tweeted “When they arrive, please send N95 masks and gloves to my grave. Taali aur thaali bhi baja dena waha! Regards, frustrated sarkari doctor”.

The doctor tagged Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Haryana Health Minister Anil Vij and other senior government functionaries. The tweet got viral within a few hours.

Extending support to the young doctor, Rahul Gandhi commented on her tweet “I am feeling sad, because this was completely avoidable. We had time to prepare. We should have taken this threat much more seriously and have been much better prepared”.

On being contacted for his comments on this, the PGIMS Nodal Officer for control and management of Covid pandemic, Prof (Dr) Dhruv Chaudhary, said the masks and other protective gear were being provided to the doctors, paramedical staffers and other employees as per the protocol and availability.

It may be pertinent to mention here that the doctors serving at the PGIMS have been complaining of the unavailability of masks, while the authorities of the institute, including the PGIMS Director, Dr Rohtash K Yadav, have been maintaining that there was no shortage of masks or sanitizers.

Several doctors posted at the PGIMS Trauma Centre had refused to treat the patients yesterday, maintaining that they would not work until they were given N95 masks for protecting themselves from Covid infection. The emergency services resumed after the personal intervention of senior functionaries of the institute.

PGIMS Deputy Medical Superintendent Dr Sandeep, who looks after the Emergency wing, said some doctors of the Surgery and Orthopaedic Surgery Departments had stopped work and demanded N95 masks, though three-layered masks are provided to the doctors as per the protocol.

“N95 masks are required only in intensive-care units, operation theatres and isolation wards. The protesting doctors were convinced, after which they relented and resumed work,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Twitter account on which the tweet complaining of the unavailability of N95 masks and gloves for the doctors serving at the Rohtak PGIMS had been posted was deleted this evening.