As if the Coronavirus pandemic isn’t enough of a nightmare for medical health professionals in the country, they are now also becoming the victims of rampant ill-treatment by the public who were just, a week ago, clapping and clanking vessels to laud their efforts of curbing the nationwide spread of the virus.
Facing discrimination and exclusion from the community, many landlords across the country are now evicting healthcare workers from their rental and paying guest accommodations for the fear of being infected and spreading the disease to others.
Seven nurses working at the Victoria Hospital in Bengaluru have been evicted from their Paying Guest accommodation. Speaking to the Deccan Herald a 35-year-old nurse working in the Trauma and Emergency care of the hospital said that she along with three other colleagues were forced out of their PG accommodation in Chamarajpet. She said, “The owner of the PG came to our door one day and said all the inmates in the PG were scared and we have to leave. We tried to explain that such infections will not happen as we take all precautionary steps to check the spread of the disease. They were in no mood to listen and told us to move out immediately.”
What’s unfortunate is that it isn’t just the people out there who are acting with such insensitivity. After the Staff Nurses Association tried to talk to the Bangalore Medical College and Research Institute (BMCRI) and intervene, asking the institute to provide accommodation to the seven nurses, they are still waiting to hear from the administration. Not just this, the BMCRI has also barred the nurses from entering the dining hall, kitchen or common area saying a separate accommodation was planned for nurses on Covid-19 duty.
At the MGM Hospital in Hyderabad’s Warangal too, doctors were forced out on the streets by their landlords citing that the doctors were ‘dirty’ and that other tenants feared they would spread the Coronavirus in the locality. A student of the MGM Hospital told The Indian Express, “They are recognising us with our lab coats and stethoscopes. Many doctors have been asked to vacate their rented homes by their owners as they believe that doctors staying at their houses may make them more susceptible to COVID-19. One owner even said we were dirty. They asked us to vacate without any notice. Most of the doctors are now on streets and have nowhere to go.”
In Telangana, duty doctors and nurses faced harassment from the police and their vehicles were vandalized too. The News Minute reported Dr. Sidhardha K, a doctor from Osmania Hospital, recalling his ordeal. He said, “I left the hospital at 9 pm. On my way home, I was stopped by police who said I wasn’t allowed to be outside. I showed them my identity card in a digital form, but the police officer refused to listen and told me again I wasn’t allowed to be outside. They hit me and broke the glass and visor of my bike when I tried reasoning with them.”
This is really appalling! Doctors returning home from the hospital in Telangana are being stopped and harassed by police for breaking curfew. This is even after they have showed the police their ID cards @thenewsminute @dhanyarajendran @NitinBGoode pic.twitter.com/72k7h8mDZK
— Nimi (@nimeshika_j) March 24, 2020
A paramedic too was beaten up by the police as he was on his way to provide services to those who needed it the most.
@TelanganaDGP One of our medical paramedics (Syed Faiyaz Hussain) was beaten up at the Miyapur junction by a policeman. As a healthcare worker, he was on his way to provide services to those in need. What is going on? Why isn’t the police aware of who is allowed and who is not?
— Mansi Gandhi (@gandhi_mansi) March 24, 2020
In Pune’s Wagholi, 22 members of staff of a multi-specialty hospital – including doctors, nurses, medical staff, residential medical officer and male nurses, were forced to vacate their accommodations in a nearby society, Krushna Kunj, reason being, they had come in contact with a Covid-19 positive patient.
Speaking to Mirror, one of the doctor’s there said, “An accident victim was admitted to our hospital for three days (March 19-21), and was shifted to a private institute in Pune on March 22. The 41-year-old Sanaswadi resident tested positive for Covid-19 on March 24 and the news went viral in the area. Shortly thereafter, the healthcare professionals were asked by the society residents to vacate the premises over fears of infection. For the past two days, we are living at the hospital itself.”
The hospital’s medical store manager describes the plight that the staff had to suffer. Saying that the society members gathered together, setting the deadline at 5 PM to vacate the flats. “All of us were walking like criminals and the residents looked down upon us through their balconies. Such humiliating behaviour was unexpected from our neighbours who we stayed with for five years. We all walked with our heads down and came to the hospital on Tuesday afternoon.”
The medical director too, like other doctors who have been living in their own accommodations, have been ostracized by other residents asking if the doctors had checked themselves for the virus time and again.
Prior to these incidents, the Resident Doctors’ Association from AIIMS had written to the Home Minister, Amit Shah, asking him to issue an order prohibiting landlords from evicting doctors and other healthcare professionals from their rented homes at such a time.
Then, the Delhi government had issued an order stating that penal action would be taken against landlords and house owners at such a time, for obstructing public servants in discharging their duties.
The Government of Karnataka too has taken a leaf from the Delhi government’s book, issuing an order stating that strict penal action would be taken against landlords and house owners for evicting healthcare personnel and obstructing them from fulfilling their duties.
#ಕೊರೊನಾ ಸೋಂಕು ಹರಡುವಿಕೆ ತಡೆಗಟ್ಟಲು ಶ್ರಮಿಸುತ್ತಿರುವ ವೈದ್ಯಕೀಯ ಕ್ಷೇತ್ರದ ಸಿಬ್ಬಂದಿಗೆ ತಮ್ಮ ಮನೆಗಳನ್ನು ಖಾಲಿ ಮಾಡಲು ಒತ್ತಾಯಿಸುವುದು ಸಾರ್ವಜನಿಕ ಸೇವೆ ಮಾಡುವವರ ಕರ್ತವ್ಯಕ್ಕೆ ಅಡ್ಡಿಪಡಿಸುವಂತಹ ಗಂಭೀರ ಸ್ವರೂಪದ ಅಪರಾಧವಾಗುತ್ತದೆ.
ಮನೆಗಳ ಮಾಲೀಕರು ಯಾವುದೇ ಕಾರಣಕ್ಕೂ ಮನೆ ಖಾಲಿ ಮಾಡುವಂತೆ ಒತ್ತಾಯಿಸುವಂತಿಲ್ಲ.#Covid19India pic.twitter.com/b3vShOCPjy— CM of Karnataka (@CMofKarnataka) March 26, 2020
Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare, Dr. Harsh Vardhan too had issued a statement request people to not discriminate against the frontline health workers and ostracize them for doing their duty.
कोरोना के ख़िलाफ़ जंग जीतना हमारा राष्ट्रधर्म है।इस लड़ाई के योद्धा हमारे Doctors, Nurses और paramedics हैं,लेकिन कुछ लोग उनके प्रति सामाजिक भेदभाव व Fear Psychosis का माहौल बना रहे हैं,जो दु:खद है।कृपया हमारे #coronawarriors का मनोबल न तोड़ें।मत भूलें कि यह लड़ाई एक अनुष्ठान है। pic.twitter.com/eifkgsEJnW
— Dr Harsh Vardhan (@drharshvardhan) March 26, 2020
It is unfortunate to see that these healthcare professionals who are hailed as ‘coronavirus heroes’ have been so ostracized by the community. All of these doctors, nurses and other medical staff put their lives at risk, take the due precautions and yet face such discrimination.
Amid the lockdown, these healthcare professionals are already grappling with problems of no transport to medical centres and most importantly, no provisions of ample protective gear.
Yet, not respecting their Hippocratic Oath and boosting their morale at a trying time like this, we hypocritically clap and bajao thalis to thank them as we evict them out of their homes and leave them to their own devices on the streets.
This student of MGM Hospital is looking for an answer when he asks, “Where is the gratitude they showed us Sunday? Why do we have to risk our lives if this is how they treat us?”
Related:
Delhi govt to penalise landlords forcibly evicting healthcare personnel from their homes
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