78, not 6, doctors died of Covid, says IMA

MUMBAI: The Indian Medical Association (IMA), a national voluntary organisation of doctors, has said the Centre is underreporting the number of doctors who have succumbed to Covid-19. According to the Centre, six doctors died of Covid-19 in Maharashtra, but the state chapter of IMA says 78 doctors lost their lives to the infection.

On February 2, minister of state for health Ashwini Kumar Choubey said in Rajya Sabha that according to the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Package (PMGKP) insurance scheme, Covid-19 had claimed the lives of 162 doctors till January 22. Of these, six are from Maharashtra. Last year in March, the Centre had announced that all healthcare workers could apply for insurance under PMGKP, which would grant claimants up to ₹50 lakh in case of death. IMA has been seeking approval for private practitioners to be considered eligible for PMGKP, but the Centre is yet to grant this.

In a letter addressed to Choubey dated February 3, IMA said its data shows 734 doctors lost their lives to Covid-19 across the country. In Maharashtra, 78 doctors, including private practitioners, have died of Covid-19, according to IMA. The organisation has asked the Centre to constitute a high-power committee to study the data on deceased doctors.

Dr Avinash Bhondwe, president, Ima-maharashtra, said, “Firstly, when the national IMA sought information on doctors who died of Covid-19 infection, the Union health ministry told us they didn’t have any such data. Therefore, around three months ago, we submitted statewise data for their consideration. The data provided in Rajya Sabha is incorrect,” he said. “When the pandemic started, we were threatened not to close our clinics or our registration would be cancelled. So doctors kept screening patients even without proper personal protective equipment (PPE). Rather than honouring the deceased doctors, the government is hiding the data,” said Bhondwe.

At present, IMA is collecting funds through crowdsourcing. “We have been able to raise a large sum with help of our doctors and will soon disburse the money to families of deceased doctors,” said Dr Bhondwe.