New Delhi: The Assam government has reinstated its seven-day duty followed by seven days in quarantine schedule for healthcare workers, after doctors in the state protested against the new 11-day work plan.
The state government, in a circular dated 6 July, had notified a 11-day continuous duty for healthcare workers in Covid wards, followed by a three-day quarantine period. The circular also mentioned that doctors will have to undergo rapid antigen detection tests for Covid-19, instead of the RT-PCR.
The Assam unit of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) and the Junior Doctors’ Association (JDA) of the Gauhati Medical College & Hospital had taken strong exception to these changes.
Assam Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma met representatives of the doctors’ bodies Tuesday evening and later tweeted saying: “We have amicably resolved the issue of duty schedule in Covid Wards and period of quarantine with Junior Doctors Association of Guwahati Medical College.”
We have amicably resolved the issue of duty schedule in Covid Wards and period of quarantine with Junior Doctors Association of Guwahati Medical College
— Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) July 7, 2020
Hours later, the JDA also posted a tweet that said: “Had a very fruitful discussion with the HM and his team. We have assured of support in this fight with #COVID19India. Thank you (sic).”
Dr Jugantor Roy, advisor of JDA, GMCH, told ThePrint, “Our discussion was on the duty schedule and the antigen rapid testing. After the discussion, it was decided that we will go back to the original seven-day schedule. We will have our rapid antigen test on the first day after the seven-day duty period, and then on the fifth day of quarantine, we will get the RT-PCR test done.”
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‘Don’t take closed-door and whimsical decisions’
In a letter written to Sarma Tuesday (7 July), the state unit of IMA said the government’s “unplanned and insensitive steps” will endanger health workers.
“IMA strongly protests the government’s order of engaging health workers and doctors in 11 days of continuous service in the Covid wards and then only three days of quarantine before re-engaging them in Covid duties subject to testing negative for the disease,” the association’s letter read.
The letter further noted how the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has already claimed that the rapid antigen tests were less sensitive and a negative result didn’t rule out Covid-19. Confirmation is needed by an RT-PCR test, it asserted.
The IMA also demanded a critical review by the government on why “so many health workers and doctors had been affected by the disease”. It further advised the government to adhere to the ICMR’s norms on managing and supervising asymptomatic patients.
“Assam has a lot of asymptomatic patients, so we must adhere to the ICMR’s guidelines. Why should the hospital beds be occupied unnecessarily when the patient has no symptoms? There is no need to occupy beds and overwork health workers. When the time will actually come, we will work round the clock for 30 days…now isn’t the time to waste resources,” Dr Satyajit Borah, state president of IMA, told ThePrint.
The association also urged the government to take experienced healthcare professionals into confidence for proper planning on management of Covid-19, rather than “taking closed-door and whimsical decisions”.
“Otherwise, the much talked about successful Assam model would collapse in no time,” it said.
The JDA’s letter to the health minister, also dated Tuesday (7 July), read, “It is difficult to make sound clinical decisions with a clouded mental status. Eleven days of continuous duties will not only lead to a decline in the health of the warriors but also make us incapable to give sound treatment to the patients.”
A source at the Assam health department told ThePrint that home quarantining of patients in Assam has been difficult, with residents in colonies and apartments protesting over it. “A change in the protocol might come up in the next few days,” the source added.
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