Nursing staff double up as human couriers

Nursing staff double up as human couriers

26/06/2020

Prawesh Lama

prawesh.lama@gmail.com

New Delhi : Until May 29 afternoon, when the government designated East Delhi’s 1,500-bedded Guru Teg Bahadur(GTB) hospital as a Covid-only facility, Aakash Sharma worked at its emergency department as a nursing orderly. His colleague Sarita Yadav was posted at the gynaecology ward.

Now that the hospital is treating only Covid-19 cases, Sharma and Yadav are now doubling as human couriers to help relatives of patients deliver their messages and personal items.

Due to poor mobile phone connectivity in some parts of the building and a ban on the entry of non-medical employees inside wards, these couriers are very much in demand among relatives of Covid patients.

GTB hospital is Delhi’s second-largest Covid hospital. The biggest coronavirus treatment facility is Lok Nayak hospital in Central Delhi with 2,000 beds.

As the hospital is admitting only Covid patients, at least 10 nursing orderlies earlier with outpatient departments, surgery and other units are now working as messengers.

Working in 8-9 hour shifts, Sharma and Yadav sit behind the police barricades along with security guards, waiting to receive messages or items from the relatives of patients.

GMCH, PGI have no plan to resume OPDs

GMCH, PGI have no plan to resume OPDs

26/06/2020

HT Correspondent

chandigarh@hindustantimes.comn

Chandigarh : With no immediate plans to resume OPD services, Government Medical College and Hospital, Sector 32, is focusing on providing tele-consultation services to patients.

The Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) has also yet to decide on reopening its OPDs.

In a press release, GMCH authorities said, “Although it is impractical to start the OPD services due to the pandemic, keeping in mind the patients’ needs, GMCH is committed to providing consultation to non-Covid patients through telemedicine and consultation facility.”

The daily consultation in different clinics through telemedicine is provided to approximately 200 patients every day from 9.30am to 1pm, except on Sunday and gazetted holidays.

Since April 28, more than 2,300 patients have availed of these services. Among them, 30.2% were fresh registrations and 69.7% old patients. “Most patients, 1,090 (47.3%), are from Chandigarh, followed by Punjab at 691 (30.0%) and Haryana at 397 (17.2%),” said Dr BS Chavan, director-principal, GMCH.

“The functioning of telemedicine facility is a wise step to avoid congregation of patients at the hospital. It is also saving patients from unnecessary commute,” the hospital spokesperson said.

Meanwhile, PGIMER director Dr Jagat Ram said, “We will take the decision to reopen the OPDs once the graph of Covid cases drops. Abruptly opening OPDs will lead to huge rush of patients and social distancing norms will go for a toss.”

Punjab Medical Council forms panel to probe fake Covid reports

Punjab Medical Council forms panel to probe fake Covid reports

26/06/2020

HT Correspondent

letterschd@hindustantimes.com

PATIALA : The Punjab Medical Council constituted a special inquiry committee on Thursday to probe the involvement of doctors in issuing wrong Covid-19 reports to patients.

The vigilance bureau on Wednesday booked five doctors on attempt to murder charges for issuing wrong reports in Amritsar.

The doctors, who were booked, have been identified as Dr Mohinder Singh, Dr Rubin Tuliz, Dr Sanjay Piplani, Dr Ridhum Tuli, of Tuli Diagnostic Centre, and Dr Pankaj Soni from EMC Hospital.

According to the council, Dr SPS Sooch, Dr Sushil Sehgal and Dr Jasmine Dahiya are members of special inquiry committee. The council says this is “apparent unethical act on part of the doctors and violation of the code of ethics.”

Dr AS Sekhon, president of the council, said, “The committee will probe all aspects of these incidents. It will take around 90 days to complete the inquiry. We have sought help of Amritsar deputy commissioner and principal of Government Medical College to expedite the inquiry.”

“Their license can be suspended or cancelled depending on the violations,” he added.

NEET, JEE Mains may be impacted

NEET, JEE Mains may be impacted

26/06/2020

Amandeep Shukla

amandeep.shukla@htlive.com

HT 

New Delhi : The cancellation of remaining Central Board of School Education (CBSE) Class 12 exams and the Union Human Resource Development (HRD) ministry’s decision to ask the University Grants Commission (UGC) to have a relook at its academic calendar have implications on the two major competitive examinations scheduled for next month — the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) and the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE).

NEET for admissions to undergraduate medical and dental courses and JEE Mains for admissions to engineering colleges are scheduled between July 18 and 26. Tens of thousands of students take the tests that the National Testing Agency conducts.

An official said the HRD ministry will take a decision on the competitive exams based on the ground situation. “...the Supreme Court’s direction is still to come. Moreover, the exams were scheduled after the CBSE exams. The situation is challenging. Naturally, a decision on whether to conduct or postpone will be taken but in a few days,” the officials said on condition of anonymity.

Admissions to various courses are determined by the percentage of marks secured in CBSE Class 12 exams.

HRD minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank on Thursday announced the cancellation of the Central Teachers Eligibility Test because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The pandemic has disrupted the academic session. The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay on Thursday said it would conduct only online classes this year. Other IITs are also expected to follow suit.

Nishank on Wednesday asked UGC to revisit its guidelines on conducting exams and the next academic calendar.

The suggestion came even as the RC Kuhad panel set up to look into the issues related to examinations and the academic calendar in view of the pandemic has recommended that the exams be cancelled.

The panel has suggested that the students be allotted marks according to an appropriate “averaging” formula.

KMC gets ICMR nod for plasma therapy

KMC gets ICMR nod for plasma therapy

26/06/2020

Kurnool Medical College (KMC) has been approved as the 60th centre in the country to conduct plasma therapy for COVID-19 patients with mild to moderate symptoms and the trials will begin within the next two days, according to medical college Principal P. Chandrashekar.

At a press conference here on Thursday, Dr. Chandrasekhar appealed to all those who recovered from COVID-19 and completed 28 days, must come forward voluntarily and donate plasma as antibodies in it would be useful for treating those having moderate symptoms and undergoing treatment.

He thanked Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy and Health Chief Secretary K.S. Jawahar Reddy for taking special interest in KMC getting equipment worth ₹25 lakh and pursuing the ICMR for according the nod. Sri Venkateswara Institute of Medical Sciences at Tirupati was also given the permission to conduct plasma therapy, he added.

Ethics panel

Meanwhile, an ethics committee was formed with Dr. Bhavani Prasad as its chairman to go into all the issues related to plasma therapy, he said.

There were about 1,600 positive cases in Kurnool district and 200 of them were still getting treatment at the Kurnool GGH, which has been designated as State COVID Hospital.

"In the absence of a drug to cure the disease and a vaccine is still at the trial stage, plasma therapy is the only option now," he opined.

Kuwait Airways flies all-student flight

Kuwait Airways flies all-student flight

Over 200 students arrive home on chartered plane

26/06/2020 

Mission success: A group of students wearing masks, PPE kits, and face shields waiting for boarding at Kuwait Airport.

A group of students from Kerala in Kuwait chartered a flight exclusively for them to return home.

Kuwait Airways operated its Boeing 777-300 flight to carry more than 200 students from Kuwait to Kochi on Wednesday, creating a record of sorts by flying an all-student flight.

It was apparently the concern about their higher studies that made the students group up and charter the flight. Most of them have completed their senior secondary education in Kuwait and have been preparing for competitive exams such as JEE, NEET, and KEAM.

Realising their limitations, the students sought their parents’ help to make arrangements from the forefront. Five parents—Kannan, George Mathai, Jayaprakash, Rajesh Sagar, and Sageer Ibrahim—took the lead and made the special journey possible.

“Considering their student status, we allowed them to carry extra baggage. They had a lot of books with them. And, we gave them special consideration on baggage,” said Kuwait Airways manager Rony.

The students not only got a flight chartered but also tied up with some hotels in the State for their quarantine.

All of them went into quarantine soon after landing in Kochi on Wednesday evening.

A virtual ceremony for majority of gold medallists at RGUHS

A virtual ceremony for majority of gold medallists at RGUHS

26/06/2020

(Top) Gold medallists Shreejaya T.K., Pooja R. Hittalamani, and Gauthami K. at the RGUHS convocation in Bengaluru on Thursday. (Above) Gold medallists Chindu B.S. and Rashmita R. who could not attend the ceremony.Sudhakara Jain

Rashmita R. was looking forward to walking on stage on Thursday to collect the six gold medals she has been awarded in Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS), the highest number of gold medals in BDS at RGUHS. But the pandemic has cheated her and others out of a traditional convocation ceremony.

As she was in Mangaluru, she could not attend the convocation. “Due to COVID-19 restrictions, I could not attend the convocation. It would have been a momentous occasion to receive the medals in front of a huge audience and more importantly, my parents,” she said.

Many toppers who could not attend their convocation in person logged in for the virtual ceremony.

Shruti P.M., who bagged a gold medal and cash prize in M.D. Radio Diagnosis, and is now a resident at KIMS, Hubballi, said: “It would have been a joyous moment with family and friends.”

She also added that she was occasionally indirectly working on treating COVID-19 patients with UV and CT scans.

Arpit Shantagiri from Belagavi also gave the convocation a miss. “I had received the highest number of gold medals at Bangalore Medical College and Research Institute convocation ceremony in February. I was looking forward to the university level convocation,” he said.

Pooja Hittalamani, who won four gold medals in MBBS, attended the convocation in person. “The convocation was well arranged with all safety measures. It would have been great if it was like before,” she said.