Steps taken to ensure safety of healthcare and other health workers of hospitals

New Delhi: Hospitals and dispensaries being a State subject, no data is maintained in the Union Government about Safai Karmacharis, who have died due to health and safety hazards related cleaning hospitals and medical waste during Covid-19 pandemic.

States were asked to constitute Infection Prevention and Control Committees. Hospitals were also to identify a nodal officer who will monitor the healthcare workers and review their exposure status. High risk exposures are placed under quarantine for 7 days. Based on their exposure/clinical profile such doctors, nursing officers and other health workers, to take a decision by the Nodal Officer/Head of the Department (or his appointed Sub-committee) for further period on one week. An advisory for managing health working in COVID and Non-COVID areas of the hospital was issued by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on 18th June, 2020.

Ministry of Health & Family Welfare has issued guidelines on Rational use of PPEs for healthcare workers including other field level workers. The guidelines prescribe the type of PPEs to be used in Commensurate with their risk to contract the disease in work-place settings. It has also provided guideline on Infection Prevention and Control practices to the State Governments. States were requested to train the hospital functionaries on infection prevention and control practices. Training on Infection Prevention and Control was also made available for all categories of healthcare workers on the iGoT platform.

This information was given by Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment Shri Ramdas Athawale in a written reply in Rajya Sabha today.