*(Bikram Singh Majithia says govt should coopt private hospitals and their staff in the fight against COVID-19)*
*(Asks CM to deal strictly with those indulging in black marketing of protective medical gear)*
*Chandigarh, April 6( Wishavwarta)-The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) today asked chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh to ensure availability of PPE kits in all government hospitals, take the help of private hospitals and their staff to combat the spread of COVID-19 and deal strictly with those indulging in black marketing of protective medical equipment.
In a statement here, former minister Bikram Singh Majithia said there were widespread complaints of nurses and doctors not being supplied with PPE kits in government hospitals which had even led to two nurses contracting Caronovirus. He said doctors attending COVID-19 patients had also been put in quarantine affecting health services. He said it was absolutely essential to ensure health workers had access to protective equipment. He said besides this the government should also provide an insurance cover of Rs one crore to both private and government health workers to ensure they did not feel any sense of insecurity while conducting their duties. He also asked the chief minister to ensure adequate cleanliness and sanitization facilities were available in all government hospitals.
Stating that government hospitals were not adequately equipped to handle all COVID-19 patients as was being done presently, Mr Bikram Majithia said the government should take private hospitals as well as their staff and diagnostic centers on board to ensure all patients were given the best possible treatment. “The recent tragic death of renowned Kirtaniya Bhai Nirmal Singh Khalsa has highlighted the shortcomings in government hospitals including lack of basis facilities. These must be augmented at a war level as soon as possible even as the facilities of private hospitals could be requisitioned for the benefit of COVID-19 patients”. He said district committees of doctors should be made to ensure all medical resources could be pooled and misgivings of private hospitals should be removed by adopting a cooperative attitude.
Speaking about recent reports of black marketing of gloves, masks and sanitizers, Mr Majithia said even though this was being done blatantly no action had been taken against any anti-social element indulging in such activity. He said the government should ensure that only approved PPE kits and medical equipment were made available and it should strictly deal with unscrupulous elements who had started manufacturing such goods illegally.
The SAD leader also asked the State government to ensure that COVID-19 patients were handled with care. He said most such patients fell into depression after contracting the virus and they should have access to psychiatrists. He said they should also be allowed to contact their families on a regular basis so that they remained in a positive frame of mind. EOM
Jangveer Singh