CORPORATE CITIZEN CLAPS FOR THE MINISTRY OF DEFENCE (MOD), FOR DEPLOYING RETIRED DOCTORS OF ARMED FORCES TO JOIN IN THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC WAR THROUGH ONLINE PLATFORMS - E-SEHAT PORTAL AND E-SANJEEVANI OPD

“After the successful roll out in three states, ex-defence OPD, now renamed as Defence National OPD, has been rolled out pan-India on May 14, 2021 and is available on www.esanjeevaniopd.in,” the Ministry said in a statement. Sehat is a real-time cloud-based platform and offers a two-way interaction between a patient and a health-care professional, using audio-visual telecommunications and auto-synchronising medical diagnostic data through specialised IoT (internet of things) enabled medical diagnostic devices. The MoD initiated service can be availed by any civilian on the website www.esanjeevaniopdin. The e-Sanjeevani OPD, a flagship telemedicine platform of the Government has been developed by the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC). As Covid-19 infection occurrences continue to spike up, the Armed Forces have been pooling in their resources towards beating the pandemic. The new government memo recognises that army veterans constitute a large group who are highly trained professionals and still have a lot to offer for a national cause. Veteran officers of the Armed Forces Medical Services (AFMC) have requested to register themselves on the portal. In other moves, the MoD recently extended the term of engagement of short service commissioned doctors serving in the Armed Forces till December 31, 2021, implying that 238 doctors, who would have otherwise been released, will continue in service till the end of the year. In addition, additional doctors have also been hired by the Ex-servicemen Contributory Health Scheme as the Defence Ministry enables the recruitment of 400 retired doctors of armed forces for Covid-19 duty. The order, dated May 08, 2021, said that “A fixed monthly lump sum amount will be admissible by deducting the basic pension from the salary drawn at the time of retirement plus specialist pay wherever applicable. The amount would remain unchanged for the term of the contract and no other allowances would be paid.”

CORPORATE CITIZEN SLAPS THE TENDENCY FOR CLOUT-LED PATIENT ADMISSIONS AT HOSPITALS EVEN AS THE SECOND WAVE OF THE COVID-19 INFECTIONS INTENSIFIES TO ALARMING LEVELS

With daily spurts of new cases averaged over 2.5 lakh and growing, the horror behind the availability of Covid-19 ICU beds, oxygen supplies and Covid-19 management drugs in India has been highlighted in a recent LocalCircles survey. The survey observed that despite Covid-specific drugs being supplied directly by manufacturers to the hospitals, many hospitals do not have these medicines and are asking patients to secure them if possible. This has resulted in hoarding, building up of real as well as artificial shortages, and the tendency for black-marketing of essential Covid-19 medicines and related supplies. The survey stated that 55% of Indians who got a Covid-19 ICU bed resorted to clout or connections to procure it and that only 13% of those who required Covid-19 management drugs, such as Remdesivir and Tocilizumab, were able to get it through hospitals, while others used their connections, overpaid or offered bribes. Around 49% of the survey respondents were from tier-1 cities, 28% from tier-2 cities and 23% respondents from tier-3, tier-4 and rural districts. The survey data stated that of the 8,943 respondents, 7% managed to procure essential Covid-19 medicinal supplies from the market by overpaying, about 4% had to bribe hospital officials to secure them while 20% said they could not get it at all and around 28% of those surveyed could not reveal what they did to secure the medicines. News reports have suggested that health care workers in several hospitals have said that vacant beds are being allocated only to those who were known to senior doctors even as more critically ill Covid-19 patients were kept waiting. A healthcare worker at Delhi’s Deen Dayal Upadhayay (DDU) Hospital said, “Several patients who arrive here are sent from one counter to another. There is hardly any help or assistance. And while common citizens are left waiting, those who have called the Medical Superintendent are allowed in and given oxygen beds. Some of these patients do not even need those beds. They are here as a matter of precaution.” As caseloads increase and the third wave of infections is anticipated soon, can empathy be paired with a protocol that is based on humane solidarity in saving lives?