It is worrying to learn that lack of sufficient quantity of personal protective equipment (PPE) is imperiling the ability of medical workers to fight the coronavirus — and putting their own lives at risk.
Experts are of the opinion that the country’s preparedness to prevent the spread of COVID-19 or the novel coronavirus infection is inadequate till now. Health workers say their fear of getting exposed is increasing as they do not have adequate personal protective equipment (PPE) — like masks, gloves, and gowns — and infected patients could walk into the hospital at any moment. The lack of PPE shouldn’t be taken lightly.
The lack of PPE shouldn’t be taken
lightly. Without adequate PPE, our
workforce will be dicimated.
Without adequate PPE, our workforce will be dicimated. Who will then be left to look after the patients. When medical staff don’t have the proper protective gear, they put not only themselves at risk but other patients as well. If healthcare providers get sick or are exposed to the new coronavirus and need to self-quarantine, the patient-to-provider ratio will inflate: There will be less qualified healthcare workers who are able to take care of an increasing number of patients.This sort of vicious cycle can accelerate the impact of the disease on the community.
The longer this epidemic goes on for, if doctors feel that there is a widespread lack of personal protective equipment [PPE], then some doctors may feel they have no choice but to give up the profession they love, because they feel so abandoned by not being given the PPE that the World Health Organization recommends. That’s the travesty of this situation, that the government needs to protect frontline health workers and in return they will give 100%.