May 17 2021, Put senior doctors on night duty to help Covid patients
Hon'ble Chief minister Dr.Himanta Biswa Sarma has asked the health department to make senior doctors available on night shifts in medical colleges treating Covid patients, as sudden death of newly admitted cases at night has been noticed in the state.
Non-availability of senior doctors in Assam hospitals at night has been a long pending issue. Sarma paid a sudden visit to the Gauhati Medical College Hospital (GMCH) at around 3 am on Sunday to check the ground reality.
In our review, we have found that the mortality rate is higher during night. Some patients (Covid infected) die within two-three hours of admission. One reason may be absence of senior doctors during night hours, when perhaps, the junior doctors stay on duty," Sarma told the media after inspection. He termed the initiative to deploy senior doctors at night in medical colleges as an ‘odd hour management’ system.
Sarma said the changes have already been brought into effect at the GMCH and the Assam Medical College Hospital in Dibrugarh, making the duty of senior doctors mandatory at night. "A patient should get equal care during day and night," Sarma added, informing that hospital wards at GMCH have been brought under CCTV monitoring to keep constant check on the availability of doctors and other inconveniences faced by Covid patients.
May 17 2021, Put senior doctors on night duty to help Covid patients