SHILLONG, May 25: At a time when NEIGRIHMS has reported a large number of its frontline workers affected by COVID, its Director, Dr P Bhattacharya has attributed the spread mainly to the attendants of the patients.
He said on Tuesday that 125 healthcare workers of the Institute have either tested positive or are under quarantine and to ensure that the work force is not affected, it has come up with a slew of prophylactic measures to protect them from further damage.
Pointing out that many attendants are also turning out to be COVID positive, he said, “In fact, in non-COVID ICU three patients were infected by their attendants who were COVID positive”.
Maintaining that attendants are needed to buy the medicines each time the sister-nurse calls them, Dr Bhattacharya said, “We have made arrangements for patients to be taken care of by our own hospital attendants and nurses so that the attendants do not need to stay or hang around in the wards all day”.
He made it clear that the patient’s relatives are asked to deposit an advance amount of Rs 10,000 for medicines, diagnostics, injections, etc. “Remdesivir injection itself costs about Rs 3,000 per vial. If the amount is not utilised it is refunded to the patient at the time of discharge.
Dr Bhattacharya made it clear that Rs 10,000 is for those who are able to pay or are covered by the health insurance scheme and have come for COVID treatment. “Those falling under the BPL category do not need to pay for anything. No Below Poverty Line (BPL) or poor patients are denied treatment in NEIGRIHMS. They are being taken care of,” he asserted.
He reasoned that the cost of ICU is fairly high because of the equipment used for critical care and added, “We are asking that Rs 10,000 be deposited at the counter so that the attendant does not need to come into COVID ICU or COVID level B area and expose themselves to COVID or infect others”.
