Bhubaneswar: As healthcare workers continue to fall prey to Covid-19 infection in various hospitals of Odisha, the Directorate of Medical Education and Training (DMET) has asked all the private hospitals in the State to bear the cost of the treatment of their healthcare staff who get infected in course of their duty.
The move came just hours after 27 healthcare workers of a private hospital in the State capital and staff of a premier cancer research hospital in Cuttack was tested positive for the SARS-nCoV yesterday.
Issuing a set of guidelines for private hospitals on Wednesday, the DMET expressed concerns over rapid rise in the number of Covid-19 infection among healthcare workers in hospitals.
“Healthcare workers (HCWs) are not only at higher risk of infection but can also amplify outbreaks within health care facilities if they get infected. Infection prevention and control practice in hospital setting needs special attention. This bestows a high-level personal responsibility and accountability,” DMET said in its order.
“The promoter and/or the management of private hospitals also owe responsibility for implementation of the infection prevention and control measures,” added the DMET.
The DMET has also directed all the private hospitals to follow the advisory issued by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare for the management of health care experts working in Covid-19 and non-Covid-19 areas of the hospital.
All private hospitals have been asked to ensure the completion of training of its staff on prescribed infection prevention and control measures (IPC) within seven days and submit a certificate to the concerned body.
The DMET has also asked the medicals to submit the name of nodal officer along with phone number and e-mail address to the Director of Public health.
Private hospitals have been directed to establish fever clinic and reserve an isolated area for management of suspected/confirmed cases of novel-Coronavirus which will be managed by dedicated staff who have not been deployed in other areas of the hospital.
No patient who is detected positive shall be transferred to dedicated Covid-19 hospitals unless being stabilised and transportable, ordered the DMET.
The medical body has ordered that the patients infected with Covid will be transferred to identified hospitals from private clinics only in dedicated ambulance.
(Edited By Suryakant Jena)
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