18% of healthcare staff test Covid positive in TS

Eighteen per cent of healthcare workers (HCW) is reported in Telangana are Covid-19 positive said the Indian medical association (IMA) and union health minister Harsh Vardhan on Thursday.

Telangana is the highest according to the central health ministry based on the data provided by the IMA on infected HCW in India. Maharashtra is 16 per cent, Delhi is 14 per cent and Karnataka is 13 per cent.

The high rate is due to low testing but now as testing has increased in Telangana experts state the numbers are bound to come down. But IMA members in Telangana that they are keeping a record of doctors but that of the other HCWs like nurses, paramedical staff, technicians, ward boys, nutritionists and others are not available.

They insist that these numbers are high but they have not been reported.

Telangana had stated that there were 2000 HCWs infected. Experts state that this number means that 11,000 HCWs have been tested. But in the case of HCWs, it is not only them but their families too which have been infected. In some cases, not only the HCW but also the family members had to be admitted.

With more and more HCWs falling ill, it is a dual blow as their medical management requires proper attention and also the gap created while they are sick leads to less personpower in the healthcare industry to effectively function. Deaths among HCWs in Telangana are an approximate 20, 11 of whom were doctors, leading to fear in the community.

The biggest challenge noted is that all HCWs do not have insurance or preparedness for

Covid-19. Dr. Sanjiv Singh Yadav, secretary of Telangana IMA, explained, “Insurance cover is not taken by doctors and very few of them have fully covered themselves during

Covid-19. The concept of health insurance has to be for all medical personnel as they too have suffered financially and it has been a strain on them and their families too.”

HCWs had to opt for treatment in Gandhi hospital and Nizam’s institute of medical sciences. Government healthcare workers underwent treatment in government hospitals but many serious cases were referred to private hospitals for care. Private doctors undergoing treatment in private hospitals have also had to cough up high amounts for treatment due to lack of insurance.

With no proper planning and no policy in place for treatment of HCWs, there has been an uproar with the IMA writing to the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi.

Dr Kiran Madhala, senior government doctor in Telangana, explained, “It was very important that at the time of an epidemic, a separate policy should have been framed for treating healthcare personnel. The worst-case scenario which is visualized during disasters has not considered HCWs, leading to this situation. Not only is it important to treat them early and get them back into the field but also ensure that maximum lives of both HCWs and common people are saved.”

It is being viewed as bad policy planning as the healthcare services have been affected due to their personnel falling sick.