Suggestion memo - in the hospital some permanent employees not ready to work in the COVID 19 ward

Dear All,

Please give a suggestion. In the hospital, some permanent employees are not ready to work in the COVID-19 ward.

Dear member,

Your query is too short. Please confirm what is the designation of these employees and what terms and conditions are mentioned in the appointment letter.

Does your hospital have approved standing orders? If yes, then have you defined "refusal to work in the assigned department" or "refusal to do the assigned work" as misconduct? Please confirm.

We, the members of this forum, are outsiders. Unless we know the conditions of the employment, we cannot provide any suggestions to your workplace problems.

Thanks,

Dinesh Divekar

Medical services comprise the spontaneous teamwork of doctors and paramedics. Overall, it is termed as a liberal profession because of its irreplaceable service to the sick and the infirm, accentuated by compassion and humanitarian consideration. In a critical and extraordinary situation like the unabated spread of a deadly pandemic, it is imperative that the saviors should first be safe. Therefore, it is the primary and preemptive responsibility of the hospital administration to ensure safety measures for the medics and paramedics involved in the treatment process by all means.

Ensuring the safety measures are in place and highlighting the above points, issue a personal appeal to all the members of staff of the hospital.

The present pandemic conditions have created havoc in the minds of people. It is an obvious reaction on the part of the medical staff who are directly coming in contact with Covid patients. The only option is to counsel them properly. In this situation, they are called frontline soldiers. If required, provide some motivational allowance and assure free treatment or some insurance along with proper PPE kits to ensure their safety.

If they still remain reluctant to work, ask them to provide in writing what they have expressed verbally. Also, inform the District Magistrate (DM) and the Indian Medical Association (IMA) in writing. Inform them that they either have to work in their allotted place in rotation or they are free to quit the job because the hospital will not pay any idle wages. In the worst case, management will be forced to terminate their services. This situation has to be dealt with in a strong manner, or otherwise, other staff may fall to the same demands.

Please ensure that all such employees (and their families if possible) are given priority vaccination for preventing COVID-19, as given to frontline healthcare workers.

Also, if any employee is still worried, the institute can consult him/her and can provide an option to stay near the hospital so that they are less likely to spread infection to their family members.

Additionally, provide them with strong PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) kits with N95 masks. Plus, offer a lot of encouragement and any other facilities that you can provide or that are provided by other hospitals.