Our Reporter
Dimapur, April 21 (EMN): There is fear, there is worry, and there are issues about travelling and food. Another issue is that patients registering for the hospitals in Dimapur are now fewer than it used to be because of the lockdown.
Health workers employed in Dimapur's private hospitals must now have to live and work in their establishments. These are some of the daily processes nurses in Nagaland must experience amid the coronavirus pandemic wreaking havoc across the globe.
But their managements are there to take care of the staff and workers in whatever they can.
India has been on a lockdown since March 22. The health services in Nagaland have been concentrating it logistical and treatment capacities on prevention measures against the spread of the virus .
Eastern Mirror talked a number of nurses in private health establishments in the trading city about their situational schedules. The nurses spoke on condition of anonymity.
A nurse working at a private health care in Dimapur, Family Health Clinic, said nurses who were working full shifts have now decided to work only if cases are an emergency (or ‘call on duty’).
Even those who stay far from the hospital, or have families, have been granted leave by their authority.
The nurse said the rest of the workers are being provided with food and rooms in the hospital by the owner of the establishment. The difficulty in commuting during the lockdown besides safety concerns prompted the arrangement.
As for salary, she said the employees receive it. However, the clinic is a small private hospital. The number of patients nowadays is fewer due to the lockdown so this aspect can also make it difficult for the owner too, it informed.
Another nurse, from Faith Hospital, said she has been staying near the hospital itself. Currently, she has no problems attending to her duties.
However, the nurse said her colleagues who stay far from the hospital are on leave. The private hospital has also made arrangements for rooms and food for some nurses in the health center.
The workers cannot travel during the lockdown. Therefore, the arrangement is safer for the nurses, the source said.
The nurse also spoke about how these days only regular patients who need medication and check-up regularly are admitted to the hospital. There are fewer patients during the lockdown as most people are afraid to visit hospitals, she said.
The worker added that most of the patients who visit the hospital are those with accident injuries or are emergency cases.
Another nurse who works at a private nursing home Gilead Nursing Home also spoke to . She said her colleagues at the hospital are lodged in the premises itself.
All the arrangements have been made by the nursing home’s authority. However, no one is allowed to go home as a safety measure, the source informed.
Commuting is difficult because of the lockdown, she added.
At the health facility, most of the patients need regular check-up especially pregnant women. For the safety of the patients as well as the staff, they are taking precautions for which they stay within the hospital’s premises, she said.
At Eden Hospital, another private hospital in Dimapur, a nurse working there informed there are no issues concerning commuting.
They are working as usual, the source said. The only difference is that patients are few for now, the source said.