Our Correspondent
Kohima, April 23 (EMN): On the issue of ‘sub-standard quality’ of personal protective equipment (PPE) in Kohima, the department of Health and Family Welfare has said that those PPE were supplied to the department during H1N1 and swine flu epidemic.
Principal Director of H&FW, Vizolie Z Suokhrie clarified that old stocks of PPE were distributed to the district hospitals. ‘Probably, because it was there for so long, the materials are not in good shape,’ he said, adding that those were the first consignments the directorate had sent to the hospitals before new consignments arrived.
Following instructions to all the districts health officials to come to the directorate and collect PPE of their choice, a few districts have started coming to select the PPE, he said.
However, none of the districts has returned their PPE to the directorate as of now. If at all they return it, the department will accept it, Dr. Suokhrie added.
Meanwhile, Kesonyu Yhome, secretary for H&FW, said that the department cannot afford to risk the lives of the healthcare workers who are the ‘frontline warriors’ in this battle against Covid-19.
Pointing out that a clear instruction was given to all districts, even at the chief secretary level, to return the PPE along with the reason for returning, Yhome said the workers would probably start coming forward with the reasons why they are not satisfied.
He added that workers in the field should have proper protective equipment ‘so that whenever there is a case tomorrow they should be able to tackle the situation’. Nagaland has also received the following items till date: 56,000 PPE; 2,76,000 triple-layer masks; 42,000 N95 masks; 11 ICU ventilators; 9 transport ventilators and 50 C-PAP machines; 1007 B-type oxygen cylinders; 119 A-Type nitrous cylinders and 54 jumbo oxygen cylinders through various consignments.
The department has appreciated the Nagaland Medical Council and private healthcare units in the state for playing an important role in this fight against the Covid-19 pandemic, particularly in the delivery of healthcare services to general patients as all district hospitals are being designated as dedicated Covid-19 hospitals.
It also added that the identified private hospitals need to be empanelled under Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan ArogyaYojna (AB-PMJAY) for providing free services to beneficiaries.
Further, the department appealed to them to allow the healthcare service personnel to discharge their duties without any obstruction or hindrance either within the premises of clinical establishments or on the road/streets etc.
It also appreciated the assistance being extended by all civil society organisations ‘in this endeavour to address the challenges caused in the wake of Covid-19, and hoped that this support system will continue’.
Besides this, the department is also collaborating with the Times Group, on a project called ProjectStepone to reach out to the citizens who requires medical consultation over the phone. Citizens requiring such assistance can call the following STATE TOLL FREE HELPLINE 1800 345 0001 and they will be guided to the appropriate consultant from a pool of doctors from across India depending upon the caller’s query.
This facility will be available to citizens of the state in a few days for which a separate notice will be issued.