Allegations raised, RIMS refutes
Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, August 06 2020:
One patient in the RIMS Trauma ICU (Intensive Care Unit) and seven others including a member of his family have tested positive for COVID-19 creating tension among the staff and patients at the hospital.
The seven are family members of patients in the ICU.
Their samples were collected and tested after staff of RIMS tested COVID positive recently.
The test results of the eight, including the patient in the Trauma ICU came out positive for COVID-19 late night yesterday.
Speaking to this reporter over phone, one of the seven alleged that there are lapses in the handling of the COVID-19 cases and preventive measures being taken up by the RIMS authority/staff.
While the test results came out late night yesterday, till 1 pm today, he is not being shifted to COVID-19 Ward or COVID Care Centre of the hospital, he said.
"Our test results were confirmed late yesterday and till 1 pm today, the RIMS authorities and staff are yet to transfer me to the COVID-19 Ward.
Such delay in the COVID response may adversely affect the containment measures," he said.
He further claimed that the patients in the Intensive Care Unit are forced to share suction machines which are used to remove substances such as blood, saliva, mucus, and vomit from a patient's airway.
As there is no suction machine for each patient, the patients in the ICU share the apparatus, which is 'contagious' and may trigger infection among the patients and family members attending them, he added.
Considering the contagious nature of the virus, the patients should not share such machine.
As the patients in the ICU are vulnerable and weak, the authorities should take up strict preventive measures.
Sharing of the suction machine may have triggered the spread, he alleged.
If the RIMS authority and staff do not adopt effective preventive measures while attending to patients, the virus may further spread among the patients and patient parties inside the hospital, he added.
On being contacted, the Medical Superintendent of RIMS brushed aside the allegations and explained that the said apparatus is wall mounted and no two patients share one apparatus adding that the virus could not have spread through the apparatus.
The patient may have contracted the virus from amongst themselves and for failing to adhere to social distancing and not wearing face masks, he added.
It may be noted that the number of cases among the staff and patients in RIMS have surged in the past few days and there is a spike in the number of infections among people having no travel history.
Even though the Health Department and the Government have said that there is no community transmission as of now, increasing local transmission has worried the people.