ON the one hand the Central government play the farce of showering petals on doctors and other health workers who are risking their lives in the frontlines of the battle against Corona; on the other hand, they are not arranging even the most basic of safety equipment for them. Moreover, instead of encouraging them, they are threatening doctors and other health workers, which is extremely condemnable. The government must do concrete work instead of hypocritical shows.
The Bihar government has issued an order that all government doctors, private doctors and health institutions must start work immediately, failing which action will be taken against them. The doctors’ association IMA has said that all government doctors are battling Covid19 day and night at hospitals as well as in the field, but the government is threatening them instead of coordinating with them and listening to their problems.
There is no doubt that doctors and other health workers are standing firm in the battle against Corona despite lack of essential safety equipment. No government official (not even a low ranking official) has till today bothered to conduct an inspection of hospitals.
There is an appalling shortage of PPE kits, masks and other essential equipment. In the absence of safety equipment, doctors are also consistently getting infected. Therefore, it is the first responsibility of the government to make available good quality masks and other safety equipment at hospitals and quarantine centers; only then can doctors and other health workers continue treating patients with alacrity.
The government should also announce life insurance for these health workers. All these steps should have been taken much earlier, but the government shows no intention of doing it even now.
