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Covid-19 goes viral: Islandwide hospitals beleaguered

07 Aug 2021

  • Nurses bemoan PPE/O2 shortage and medical gear  
  • Urgent plea for gloves, masks, respirators, goggles, face shields, gowns, aprons  
  • Health Ministry denies any shortage, assures continuous supply 
BY Maheesha Mudugamuwa With the rapid increase in the number of Covid-19 patients being reported in the country, a severe shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) has been reported from hospitals around the country over the course of last week, The Sunday Morning learnt.  As alleged by the healthcare unions, the shortage was mainly due to the sudden spike in the number of Covid-19 patients reported within a short period of time.  Speaking to The Sunday Morning, All-Ceylon Nurses Union (ACNU) President S.B. Mediwatta stressed that there was a severe shortage of PPE such as gloves, medical masks, respirators, goggles, face shields, gowns, and aprons.  In addition to the shortage of PPE, the union alleged that healthcare workers are now being overworked, as the authorities have curtailed the compulsory leave provided for those who worked at Covid-19 treatment centres.  “Hospitals are overflowing with Covid-19 patients, and they are everywhere. This poses a huge risk to healthcare workers as well. Now, they don’t have PPE and even the masks available are insufficient. This is not just in one hospital but the situation in almost all the hospitals around the country is the same. Soon, the capacity of all these hospitals will be exceeded and the healthcare workers will also get tired and sick and then controlling the pandemic would be a very difficult task,” Mediwatta explained.  While the health experts predicted another peak of infections of Covid-19 in the coming weeks, healthcare unions urged the Government to properly co-ordinate with the healthcare workers and to protect them from the virus.  If this issue is not remedied, the PPE shortage would leave doctors, nurses, and other frontline workers dangerously ill-equipped to care for Covid-19 patients, he claimed.  The unions also alleged that there was a shortage of oxygen (O2) in hospitals.  Nevertheless, the Health Ministry denied any such shortage at present, and Health Ministry Communications Director and Public Health Services Deputy Director General Dr. Hemantha Herath assured a continuous supply of the required PPE to hospitals.   


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