KSU demands special accommodation for NEIGRIHMS health workers

Syllad | The Rising MeghalayaJuly 13, 2020

The Khasi Students Union (KSU) has requested the state government to provide special accommodation for the health workers of the North East Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health & Medical Sciences (NEIGRIHMS).

In a letter to the state health minister AL Hek on Monday, KSU general secretary Donald V Thabah said, “(We) appeal to the state government to find means and measures to provide special accommodation to these COVID warriors who are putting relentless efforts to tackle this deadly pandemic on a daily basis.”

He said the NEIGRIHMS is recognized by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) as a nodal hospital for COVID-19 care centre and as such it is entrusted with the testing and treatment of COVID-19 patients which is an arduous task.

According to him, almost all the COVID-19 related patients are being housed in this hospital which poses the threat of transmission of the disease to the hospital staff.

Thabah said currently the hospital is being able to provide quarantine facilities only to those high risk staff whereas the moderate and low risk contact staffs are bereft of the above facility due to unavailability of accommodation in the hospital premises.

“The moderate and low risk staff thereby have no other alternative but to go back home from work. This in turn will put not only themselves and their families at risks but also to the general populace in their respective localities. Hence there is an imminent threat of community transmission if the above mentioned staff are deprived of the necessary accommodations,” the letter stated.

The KSU has further suggested the state government on the need to invite the traditional heads and NGOs to find an amicable solution to address the plight and the grievances of these COVID warriors.

“The Union proposes that the government along with the traditional heads can arrange for special accommodations to these NEIGRIHMS staffs for quarantine in different community centres, institutions, lodges, etc. such arrangements can be made in their respective localities or in areas adjacent to the vicinity of the hospital. Also transportation should be provided to the staff to ferry them to and fro from their centres to their place of work,” the letter said.

Meanwhile, the KSU also expressed its gratitude to the various agencies dedicated to the fight against the pandemic and appealed to the government to ensure that health workers are not stigmatized by unscrupulous and unethical elements. It demanded that if such cases occurred, the government should deal with them with a firm hand.