No ex-gratia yet for docs who died in the line of Covid-19 duty

VISAKHAPATNAM: Even though around 20 doctors, including five government doctors, lost their lives while on Covid-19 duty in the state, none of their families have received the ex gratia (50 lakh as announced by the central government) amount yet.
Similarly, though hundreds of doctors and nurses have contracted the infection, they neither have government insurance cover nor is there any provision of ex gratia for them.Moreover, most doctors do not even have assured beds or ICUs guaranteed if they were to be admitted in a Covid-19 hospital.
Over 7,000 members of the AP government doctors’ association (APGDA) are now planning to take up a state-wide black badge protest from Thursday on the issues plaguing doctors who are in the frontline of the war against the novel coronavirus. As per a state-wise Indian Medical Association data released in July, 175 doctors have lost their lives across 18 states, including 11 from AP. The numbers have further gone up in August, Dr PA Ramani, IMA’s Visakhapatnam unit president, said.
“We are asking the government to take better care of doctors who are risking their lives on duty. In every district, almost 150-200 doctors and nurses have been infected by Covid-19. In Visakhapatnam alone, four practitioners including a general physician, paediatrician, ophthalmologist and psychiatrist have died. The family members of a final-year PG doctor of a private medical college in Eluru, who died in June, did not get any ex gratia,” he said.
Of the 175 doctors who died across India, hardly 10% of families have received any ex gratia so far. Dr K V Ramprasad, secretary of APGDA in Visakhapatnam, said over 20 doctors from government and private hospitals have died in the state but nobody’s family has received the ex gratia amount announced by the central government.
“We are representing our key demands to the government and resorting to a black badge protest. We want expediting the payment of Centre’s compensation of 50 lakh and allocation of another 50 lakh from the state government. Secondly, 15-20 separate rooms with oxygen and five beds with ICU facility should be earmarked for doctors and their families on Covid-19 duty in each district in case they get infected. At least, we will not feel so depressed and insecure then. And it will also boost our morale,” he said. “Finally, pay revision as per UGC scale is due since 2016 for doctors under the directorate of medical education and we are getting almost half the salary of what we should have got, which is demoralising as well,” added Dr Ramprasad.