Sweeper, two post-graduate doctors test positive for COVID-19 at boys hostel in Madras Medical College

As the majority of the doctors have been quarantined, the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital is charged for referring patients with other problems to different hospitals in the city.

Published: 26th April 2020 08:50 PM 

By Sinduja Jane

Express News Service

CHENNAI: The postgraduate doctors boys hostel at Madras Medical College closed down after a sweeper there tested positive for COVID-19, and after that, the management tested 102 postgraduate doctors and found two among them were positive.

The postgraduate doctors were moved to the alternate facility and quarantined. Last week four postgraduate doctors at the cardiology department had tested positive. A few doctors from other departments, staff nurses, pharmacists and other front line workers in the hospital also tested positive.

As the majority of the doctors have been quarantined, the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital is charged for referring patients with other problems to different hospitals in the city.

However, Dr R Jayanthi, Dean, Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital denied and said, "Still we are managing to treat non-COVID-19 patients with the available strength and we are not referring any patient to anywhere.”

“It is true that a sweeper tested positive in boys hostel. After that, we tested 102 postgraduate doctors and among them, two turned positive. So, we relocated the inmates of the hostel to the alternate facility. Still, we have enough post-graduate doctors and also patients strength also low now, so the posted strength is sufficient. Again we don’t want to expose too many doctors to the infection,” Dr Jayanthi added.

However, doctors at the hospital said, MBBS trainee doctors also under quarantine.”Majority of post-graduate doctors other than those in COVID-19 duty are under quarantine. Casuality department is informed to refer the cases to other hospitals as there is no enough strength to treat the patients here,” a doctor said.

Meanwhile, a senior doctor at a government medical college hospital in the city told Express, “We are getting all the patients referred here for the last week. The patient is being referred with the note want of beds. Because of this our doctors and other staff also overburdened and we also have so many COVID-19 positive cases to handle apart from other cases.”

“Patients with cardiac problems and other complaints have been referred to our hospital for the past week. Even for regular tablets, they are referred here. We are treating and sending as we have to,” a doctor in another hospital said.

Meanwhile, Doctors Association for Social Equality in its statement said, " Lack of proper personal protective equipment kits and N95 masks in the reason for many front line workers in the hospitals getting infected by coronavirus,"