SHILLONG, April 24: Congress leader and former Chief Minister Mukul Sangma said all the health facilities should be prepared to deal with the pandemic while the NEIGRIHMS staff should get out of their pessimistic bubble.
“Everybody has to be prepared. Nobody should want to be kept away (from responsibilities). Some should pull up their socks instead of being pessimistic,” the leader of the Opposition said while reacting to the helplessness showed by the NEIGRIHMS director in fighting COVID-19 with scarce resources.
The director had also asked the state not to overburden the institute with COVID cases.
He said during a health emergency, it is the responsibility ofevery medical institution – private or under state or central government – to face the crisis.
“Every available asset must be utilised optimally to deal with this emergency,” he said.
The former chief minister said nobody should say they are overburdened.
He said emergency sets in when the entire health infrastructure and facilities made available to deal with any requirement of treatment of any kind of patient is not capable of coping with the challenges of containing a pandemic.
“See what is happening in Delhi. The whole health system has failed,” he added.
He suggested stringent auditing of deficiencies and measures to deal with them should be conducted so that the hospitals stand prepared.
Stating that one can never predict how the COVID-19 situation will unfold, Sangma said: “Not just NEIGRIHMS, whether it is the civil hospital or any other hospital, the government must sit again with all hospitals as well and be prepared.”
