HYDERABAD: In a tragedy that shocked the government doctors’ fraternity in Telangana, a 35-year-old Deputy Medical & Health Officer (DMHO) in Bhadradri Kothagudem district died of Covid-19 on Friday after a week of hospitalisation.
The victim, Dr G Naresh Kumar, worked in the Bhadrachalam division as the District Immunisation Officer and was actively involved in Covid-19 mitigation strategies. He was also in charge of a quarantine centre at Manuguru.
Dr Kumar had contracted the virus about a week ago. “He spent about five days in a quarantine centre but as his condition deteriorated, he was shifted to a private hospital,” a doctor from the district, who knew him, said. The 35-year-old was put on ventilator support and died of cardiac arrest and pulmonary thromboendarterectomy (PTE). The youngest of the doctors to die of Covid-19, Dr Kumar is survived by his wife and two daughters.
Health Minister Eatala Rajender expressed shock and grief over the death of the young doctor. He offered his condolences to the family. What makes Dr Kumar’s death shocking for his colleagues, peers and family is that he had recently aced the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) and was going to apply for an MD.
But exposure to the SARS-CoV-2 virus killed him and his dreams. The incident has triggered discontent among doctors, who are now demanding for better care for the primary health care (PHC)-level staff. Dr Kumar was stationed at a PHC-level hospital too. Express spoke to several PHC-level doctors and technicians who said even PPE kits are being given out sparingly, leading to fear and making it difficult for them to perform their duties. “Dr Kumar was a sincere government servant. What has happened is unfortunate but not unexpected. In my hospital too, we are given only one PPE kit a day and have to buy more ourselves if needed. I am deployed at an isolation centre and we do not have sufficient N95 masks,” a doctor in the district said.
PHCs cater to nearly 30,000 population for all basic medical needs, ranging from immunisation, pregnancy, hypertension to animal bites. Now, with Covid-19 patients also seeking treatment at PHCs, the understaffed centres are crying for help. Doctors note that PHCs, with a staff strength of just 10-15 and one doctor, have to handle plenty of non-clinical work.
“At least during the pandemic, they must divert the duties of paper work to other department staff, such as teachers and Anganwadis. Doctors have to dedicate all their time to healthcare,” another doctor said.
For instance, despite details of Covid-19 patients being uploaded on referral apps, these are being noted down and checked at the level of nursing staff and doctors. This adds to the workload and the work timings run into nearly 18 hours. Unlike teaching hospitals, there is no quarantine system for on-duty staff in order to cut short the exposure from 30 days to 15 days.
“The State and Centre pay ex gratia of `1 crore and `50 lakh to the victims’ families, along with an assured government job to an eligible member of the family. We also demand filling of vacancies at all levels and proper medical care be given to contractual staff as well,” said Dr Lalu Prasad, president of the Telangana State Government Doctors Association.