Civil Hospital’s laxity towards swine flu ward puts lives at risk

Manav Mander

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, February 18

Doctors and the staff attending the swine flu patients need to be vaccinated and the ward where patients are kept has to be fumigated regularly and in case any patient dies, his/her bedding has to be destroyed. However, the Ludhiana Civil Hospital’s laxity in following the necessary precautionary measures is putting lives at risk.

Although, the staff of the hospital were vaccinated at the start of the winter season, a few doctors who joined later and nurses who have been recently given the duty at the swine flu ward have not been vaccinated. According to the staff working at the ward, even the fumigation of the swine flu ward is not done regularly.

A staff member, on the condition of anonymity, said initially, many of the nurses were deployed in some other wards and now have been shifted to the swine flu ward, but they have not been vaccinated. There are three nurses who have not been vaccinated.

According to the sources, there is lot of panic among the nursing staff members who have been allotted duty at the ward without getting vaccinated, especially after the death of a swine flu patient recently. The newly appointed emergency medical officers are also without vaccination, although they come in contact with the patients coming to the hospital daily.

Sources from the hospital further revealed that the isolated room where a swine flu patient died recently was neither fumigated and nor the bedding and mattress of the patient destroyed.

Meanwhile, Senior Medical Officer Dr Geeta said the staff which will be coming in contact with the swine flu patients was vaccinated at the start of the season. “Since the duty of the nursing staff keeps changing so the entire staff was vaccinated. Doctors were also vaccinated. If any nurse has been devoid of vaccination, they should come to me. I am sure they must have skipped the vaccination themselves. As the case of vaccination of newly appointed EMOs is concerned, we have already demanded the department for vaccines. As soon as we receive them, they will be administered to the doctors,” she said.

When asked about the fumigation of the swine flu ward, the SMO said she would first check with the persons concerned and then share the facts. “Fumigation of the ward is done monthly while the ward is carbolised daily,” she said. When asked if bedding of the patient who recently died due to swine flu were destroyed, she said: “As even the dead body of the patient is not taken home due to the fear of infection, I am sure the hospital must have destroyed the bedding.” However, the staff working at the ward has all together different story to tell.