Senior doctors alarmed as staff infections surge in twin cities

Senior doctors from major public sector healthcare facilities in the twin cities have voiced their deep concerns over the “casual attitude” of the federal and provincial government towards more and more healthcare workers contracting the coronavirus with each passing day.

Deputy director at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) Dr Waseem Ahmed Khawaja, who himself had tested positive for Covid-19 two weeks back, informed that around 90 staff members at the PIMS, including 49 doctors, have already been tested positive for the respiratory disease caused by the coronavirus.

He said the situation is becoming more and more alarming with the continuous rise in the number of healthcare workers contracting the disease.

Head of the PIMS Pathology Department Professor Ashok Tanwani revealed that almost all these staff members were serving general patients and those admitted in wards other than the coronavirus isolation ward.

He said that this shows how much the general population has been exposed to the coronavirus, and that they are carriers transmitting the virus to healthcare workers.

According to Dr Tanwani, these healthcare workers are then a risk for their patients as well as to their families.

He said that doctors are figuratively “falling from the wall” between the coronavirus and the general population, and that wall, one day, will come down brick by brick as the dengue infection was continuing to rise as well.

The havoc it will cause will be indescribable, Dr Tanwani warned.

He added that the general population and the government are displaying a “careless” attitude towards the problem.

Mortality has hit a record high till now, with ventilators being scarce, he said.

Dr Tanwani asks that people behave responsibly and impose a lockdown on themselves to avoid spreading the virus.

It is important to note that more than 100 healthcare workers, including a number of senior doctors, have been confirmed positive for Covid-19 in Rawalpindi as well.

The head of gynaecology and obstetrics at Holy Family Hospital, Professor Dr Rizwana Chaudhary, and her husband Professor Muttiullah, have also tested positive for the disease.

A number of senior health professionals are now actively involved in creating awareness among the general public on how to avoid the coronavirus and what is needed to control its spread.

They believe that individuals must take preventative measures and that the government should provide personal protective equipment (PPE) to healthcare workers.

According to Dr Tanwani, social distancing is necessary along with frequent hand washing and the use of sanitisers and masks.

Further awareness should be created through social media and the government should take more serious actions for a smart lockdown, he said.