Battle-weary OGH medicos boycott duties over workload

Battle-weary OGH medicos boycott duties over workload

Amrita.Didyala@timesgroup.com

Hyderabad: 22.06.2020

Health services at the state-run Osmania general hospital (OGH) was hit on Sunday after a large section of junior doctors at the forefront of the coronavirus fightback boycotted duties over poor strength at the Covid-19 wards leading to burnout.

Nearly two weeks after a strike badly affected operation at the state’s exclusive Covid-19 facility, Gandhi Hospital, 30 PG medicos from OGH boycotted duties for the second day in a row.

They sent a letter to their department head on Sunday morning, saying they will boycott duties indefinitely until more doctors were deployed.

A worried hospital superintendent B Nagender has now sent an SOS to other departments heads saying, “we cannot leave the battle midway,” and urged all hands to manage the isolation wards.

Requests to PG doctors from the general medicine department who are feeling ‘burnt out’ due to increasing Covid-19 suspects and confirmed cases coming to the hospital, have all fallen on deaf ears.

‘Every dept has docs hit by coronavirus’

The hospital handles 2,000 patients daily, and while the general medicine and pulmonology department usually handles suspected and positive cases of Covid-19 in every hospital, at OGH, the general medicine PGs are the only ones at the forefront as the hospital does not have a department of pulmonology.

There are 15-16 PG doctors, house surgeons (1st year medical students) usually taking care of isolation ward for suspected Covid-19 patients, there are 40-50 patients at the ward at any given time. The junior doctors had asked for additional doctors on Friday, following which a circular was sent to all departments seeking help but most of them are short-staffed currently.

“Every department in the hospital currently has 4-5 doctors who tested positive for Covid-19. Also, 50% of the strength remains on quarantine as per orders. With a steady patient flow, many departments are struggling to meet their requirements. While they are working out how to help us, PGs and house surgeons from dermatology department have been deputed at the isolation ward,” said Dr B Nagender, hospital superintendent. “We are pressing senior doctors in service and making alternative arrangements, but my request to the PG doctors is to allow us time to work out the modalities. This is not the time to crumble under pressure,” Nagender added, admitting that doctors are indeed overburdened and all efforts are being made to get more staff.