Bhubaneswar: With the increase in number of coronavirus infection among healthcare workers in hospitals, the state government has issued an order asking the private healthcare institutions to bear the treatment cost of its staff, if infected with COVID-19 on duty.
The Directorate of Medical Education and Training (DMET) issued the order, Wednesday following detection of 27 COVID positive cases at Blue Wheel Hospital at Mancheswar.
“Health care workers (HCWs) are not only at higher risk of infection but can also amplify outbreaks within health care facilities if they get infected. This bestows a high-level personal responsibility and accountability. The promoter and/or the management of private hospitals also owe responsibility for implementation of the infection prevention and control measures,” the government said in the order.
If any healthcare worker of a private hospital is infected with the virus during the course of on duty, the concerned hospital authority will bear the treatment and management costs.
All private hospitals have been asked to ensure completion of training of staff on prescribed infection prevention and control measures (IPC) within seven days and submit a certificate.
The government has also asked the private hospitals to submit the name of nodal officer along with phone number and e-mail address to the Director of Public health.
Further, the hospitals have been instructed to establish a dedicated fever clinic and reserve an isolated area for management of suspected and confirmed cases of COVID-19. The area will be managed by dedicated staff who shall not be deployed in other areas of hospital.