Staff of many hospitals stopped on their way to work

Some govt. hospitals arrange transport

28/03/2020, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT,CHENNAI

Govt. Medical College premises being disinfected as the special COVID-19 facility is next door. S. R. Raghunathan

Several government hospitals arranged transport for their staff to ensure that they reached work during the lockdown. But there were instances where the police stopped hospital workers, across the city, as a result of which they did not turn up for work.

At a city hospital, at least 50% of the staff, including lab technicians, conservancy workers and other hospital workers, could not make it to work.

“They were stopped by the police in several places. Although they displayed their identity cards, the police told them that there was no point in enforcing a lockdown if they moved around like this. Our doctors and nurses were able to reach the hospital in the morning,” a senior doctor said.

In the absence of many conservancy workers, the hospital had to make alternative arrangements for cleaning, he added. Another government hospital arranged its own vehicles for its staff, including conservancy workers. “The vehicles made two or three trips to bring them to the hospital, as we had to follow physical distancing inside the vehicle too. We asked our doctors to carpool,” an authority said.

The Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital arranged four or five buses to ply on four different routes to bring their healthcare personnel. They had obtained special permission to transport their staff during the lockdown, said officials.

Another hospital authority said that on the first day of the lockdown, the hospital had issued letters mentioning that the staff were involved in the treatment of COVID-19 patients. “But the letters were not accepted by the police on the second day. So we issued letters for 15 days. We have issued vehicle passes for all our staff, including contract workers,” the authority added.