SHILLONG, May 31: Controversy has arisen a day after a pregnant staff nurse of Ganesh Das Hospital died of COVID infection with questions being raised as to whether it was right to put her on duty in such a delicate health condition. There is also a murmur of negligence on the part of hospital authorities.
Even though the health officials have denied any lapse, Health Minister AL Hek has sought a detailed report from the hospital authorities on the circumstances leading to her death. The report will be submitted on Tuesday.
Hek told reporters on Monday that he sought a report after hearing about the death of Manisha Turnia amidst allegations of negligence being raised against the hospital and the Health department for violation of a May 17 government order to exempt pregnant women from attending office.
The Ka Sur U Paidbah Bri Hynniewtrep in a letter to the Chief Secretary, MS Rao, complained of alleged violation of the notification issued by the government against deployment of pregnant women on duty.
The letter issued on Monday alleged that the staff nurse was not granted leave by the management and was “compelled” to perform her duty despite having reported about her ill health.
According to the letter, this was a clear violation of the government notification of May 17 which clearly directed that persons with disabilities and pregnant women employees should stay at home and are exempted from attending office.
He observed that this incident in a government hospital clearly proves that even the government departments are not adhering to the official guidelines.
DHS (MI), Dr Aman Warr, however, denied charges of any wrong-doing and categorically said that the ill-fated staff nurse was not put on COVID duties.
He clarified that when a female health worker informs her office that she is carrying, they are promptly taken off COVID related duties. “Similarly this particular staff nurse was not put on COVID-19 duties and was providing service in the general ward,” Dr Warr said.
Asserting that it is difficult to allow pregnant healthcare workers to perform their duties, Dr Warr said, “We have written to the state government that they should be exempted from duties and we should have a replacement in their place. We are happy that the government has agreed to our request,” he added.
Asked whether the government had issued any order that pregnant women should not attend office, Dr Warr confirmed that the government had instructed all pregnant staff not to attend office and to work from home. “However, healthcare workers cannot work from home. Sometimes we have casualties and such things happen. It does not happen with COVID-19 but with other illnesses as well. This is a challenge we always face as health workers,” Dr Warr said.
He made it clear that the hospital authorities cannot be blamed since hospitals are practically the safest places.
“At times health workers have to go out for marketing and other purposes and they mingle with people. We cannot claim that they have infected the virus from the hospital,” the DHS clarified.
On the assistance to be provided to the bereaved family of the staff nurse, he said that all frontline workers are covered under an insurance scheme worth Rs 50 lakh. Besides insurance, the government would provide an ex-gratia and other facilities due to them.
It may be mentioned that another staff nurse in NEIGRIHMS Badaphun Rapsang, had succumbed to COVID-19 on May 23.
Besides the two nurses, seven other healthcare workers have succumbed to the infection in May including a ward boy of Ganesh Das Hospital, a driver of Shillong Civil Hospital and a medical attendant of the Shillong district jail, Dr Warr said.
A total of 411 healthcare workers have been infected with COVID-19 in the State since January this year, he added.
Meanwhile, the Meghalaya Branch of the Trained Nurses’ Association of India has condoled the death of the staff nurse calling it a great loss to the nursing fraternity.
