We are deeply shocked at the death of Dr Md Moyeen Uddin who succumbed to the coronavirus at the Kurmitola General Hospital in Dhaka on Tuesday. He is the first doctor to have been killed by the virus in Bangladesh, and his death raises questions about the safety of our healthcare providers who are putting their own lives at risk for the public.
The death of Dr Moyeen exposed the fact that lack of sufficient quantity of personal protective equipment (PPE) is imperiling the ability of medical workers to fight the coronavirus. 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.
If healthcare providers get sick or are exposed
to coronavirus and need to self-quarantine,
the patient-to-provider ratio will inflate
The lack of PPE shouldn’t be taken lightly. 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%.
