Health Ministry, AIIMS, Safdarjung hospitals cancel leaves of all its officers, staffers

NEW DELHI, May 9: The Union Health Ministry and the Centre-run AIIMS, Safdarjung and Ram Manohar Lohia hospitals in the national capital have cancelled leaves of all its officers and staffers indefinitely and activated emergency protocols amid a military standoff between India and Pakistan.
The development came after Health Minister J P Nadda reviewed the preparedness of hospitals in the country on Friday and directed officials to ensure all medical emergency response systems are fully equipped and functional.
“In view of the impending situation, no leave of any kind, including station leave, is to be granted to any officer, except on medical grounds, till further orders. Further, the already sanctioned leave, if any, stands cancelled and the officers who are on leave are directed to resume their duties immediately. The controlling officers may instruct their officers/officials accordingly,” the ministry order stated.
This was followed by similar orders from the AIIMS Trauma Centre, Ram Manohar Lohia and Safdarjung hospital administrations.The order referred to a mass casualty management mock drill held at the facility last week and said it was fully prepared to receive patients in case of any eventuality be it with burns, gunshot injuries and head, neck, spinal and chest injuries.
The Safdarjung Hospital’s Additional Medical Superintendent Dr Charu Bamba chaired a meeting with officials and directed them to stack up the hospital and its blood bank, and emergency facilities be primed with adequate manpower. At the Health Ministry’s review meeting, Nadda stressed the need to establish ground-level linkages with all state governments, especially those with international borders, to provide immediate healthcare services in case of emergencies.(PTI)