Provide safety gear to health workers: HC

Dinesh Manhotra

Tribune News Service

Jammu, April 4

The Jammu and Kashmir High Court on Saturday directed the authorities to provide protection gears and safety gadgets to all health workers engaged in treating persons infected with Covid-19.

The High Court also directed the authorities to devise a mechanism to attend to the needs of the families of the health workers as they were working round the clock in their respective institutes in the emergent situation.

Eight hospitals in Kashmir and three in Jammu have been exclusively kept for the Covid-19 cases. As many as 2,400 treatment beds and 1,000 additional quarantine beds have also been earmarked.

A division bench of High Court comprising Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice Rajnesh Oswal gave the directions while hearing various PILs.

The court further directed the authorities to hold discussions with the associations of health workers — resident doctors, faculty members, nurses and safai karamcharis — to address their grievances and difficulties. It observed that the members of the associations were working on the ground and were aware of the difficulties being faced by the health workers.

The High Court observed that the health workers were working overtime and beyond the call of their routine duties so there was a need to run 24-hour canteens/kitchens in all hospitals/institutions to address their necessities.

Earlier, the High Court had asked the police to ensure the safety of the doctors and healthcare providers after reports that some people kept in isolation for suspected coronavirus infection had misbehaved with medical staff and damaged hospital property.