With low-grade PPEs, doctors in Hyderabad on Covid duty sitting ducks for virus

HYDERABAD: Doctors at Niloufer Hospital, Osmania General Hospital (OGH) and other state-run hospitals raised complaints of poor quality PPE (personal protection equipment) being given to them. While PPEs have been supplied in inadequate numbers, the ones which were supplied are of 35 gsm (grams per square meter) thickness, as against the recommended 60-80 gsm (gram per square metre) thickness and are inadequate for use by doctors handling patients.
In fact, at hospitals like Niloufer Hospital and mental hospitals, the PPEs supplied are the ones used for HIV wards.These do not cover the entire body, which is an essential recommendation as per Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. While components of PPE include goggles, face-shield, mask, gloves, coverall/gowns (with or without aprons), head cover and shoe cover, in some hospitals the PPEs do not even cover the whole body. “While earlier we were not even given PPEs, we have been supplied with PPEs after protesting over the issue. But the ones we got are just namesake ones, which leave half the body exposed,” said a junior doctor from Niloufer hospital.

“Although we are provided with PPEs, those are of poor quality. We are being provided with 35 gsm quality but we need at least 60 gsm quality. The 35 gsm quality is sufficient for level 4 staff like the ones who shift patients but is not enough for doctors who attend to emergency patients, doing intubation etc. We had even brought this to the notice of the Director of Medical Education and hospital authorities but all they could say was they will supply better quality when it is available,” said Dr Phanindra, resident doctor at OGH.
This scenario is the same in most hospitals, except Gandhi Hospital where the quality supplied is better. “Most doctors are facing the same issue of poor quality PPEs. This is dangerous for doctors and patients alike because even one doctor getting infected from an asymptomatic patient can spread the virus to many patients,” said Dr Mahesh Kumar, president, Healthcare Reforms Doctors Association.
While contacted, Director of Medical Education and authorities at Telangana State Medical Infrastructure Development Corporation (TSMIDC), which supplies the PPEs to the hospitals, did not respond.