Lack of bodysuits for docs, nurses cripples hospitals
Photos by Sachin Haralkar
Amid global shortage, manufacturers have increased prices ten-fold; experts say govt must intervene.
An acute shortage of Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) – a white bodysuit with goggles and matching shoes that you have seen health workers abroad dressed in – is threatening to derail the city’s battle to beat the coronavirus.
According to an expert, a hospital treating 30covid-19 patients will run through 5,000 PPEs in a month. Most hospitals in the city, who have started treating cases of coronavirus infections, do not have more than 40 of these suits.
AIDS patients . It provides little or no protection against covid-19. Only top doctors are being provided with PPEs in Mumbai. In short – we are not protecting the people we expect to protect us.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Friday recognised the shortage of PPEs as the most pressing threat in the fight to prevent deaths due to coronavirus infection. WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the WHO has shipped almost 20 lakh items of PPEs to 74 countries and is preparing to send a similar number to 60 more countries.
As cases rise in Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) and the rest of the state, more and more hospitals are being enlisted to start isolation facilities. But this entire effort will come to a naught if health workers are not provided PPEs because exposing health workers to a grave danger to their own health is not going to help anyone.
In just last 48 hours, 22 new positive cases were reported in MMR, while the daily tally has now risen to 108.
So far, city private hospitals that have created isolation facilities are – Jaslok (13 beds), Sir H N Reliance Hospital (2 beds), Kokilaben Hospital (10 beds), Hinduja Hospital (10 beds), Lilavati Hospital (6 beds) S L Raheja Hospital (10 beds), and Bombay Hospital (10 beds).
While hospital managements are trying to arrange PPEs for their staff, the manufacturers have increased the prices tenfold. “It is extremely difficult to buy at such high prices. The government must intervene and control prices,” a senior Jaslok doctor said.
Dr Asit Khanna, senior consultant, general and interventional cardiology, said expenditure on healthcare in India is one of the lowest in the world. “If corona does not wake up our lawmakers and if they don’t start revamping healthcare setup in India, then we are doomed. This pandemic is the right time to get the right equipment and people in the right place,” he said.
An acute shortage of Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) – a white bodysuit with goggles and matching shoes that you have seen health workers abroad dressed in – is threatening to derail the city’s battle to beat the coronavirus.
According to an expert, a hospital treating 30
What you see Indian health workers wearing in newspaper pictures – a blue plasticky gown and a flimsy mask – is meant to be worn by doctors and nurses treating
The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Friday recognised the shortage of PPEs as the most pressing threat in the fight to prevent deaths due to coronavirus infection. WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the WHO has shipped almost 20 lakh items of PPEs to 74 countries and is preparing to send a similar number to 60 more countries.
As cases rise in Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) and the rest of the state, more and more hospitals are being enlisted to start isolation facilities. But this entire effort will come to a naught if health workers are not provided PPEs because exposing health workers to a grave danger to their own health is not going to help anyone.
Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) bodysuits that health workers dealing with corona cases must wear. Only a handful of top doctors have access to these suits in Mumbai
In just last 48 hours, 22 new positive cases were reported in MMR, while the daily tally has now risen to 108.
So far, city private hospitals that have created isolation facilities are – Jaslok (13 beds), Sir H N Reliance Hospital (2 beds), Kokilaben Hospital (10 beds), Hinduja Hospital (10 beds), Lilavati Hospital (6 beds) S L Raheja Hospital (10 beds), and Bombay Hospital (10 beds).
While hospital managements are trying to arrange PPEs for their staff, the manufacturers have increased the prices tenfold. “It is extremely difficult to buy at such high prices. The government must intervene and control prices,” a senior Jaslok doctor said.
Dr Asit Khanna, senior consultant, general and interventional cardiology, said expenditure on healthcare in India is one of the lowest in the world. “If corona does not wake up our lawmakers and if they don’t start revamping healthcare setup in India, then we are doomed. This pandemic is the right time to get the right equipment and people in the right place,” he said.
The flimsy white gowns you see health workers wearing in Mumbai are meant for doctors and nurses treating AIDS patients. These gowns provide little or no protection against covid-19
