273 Doctors Died Of COVID: Govt Yet To Respond To Letter Seeking Aid, Says IMA

New Delhi: India has lost around 273 doctors to the novel coronavirus while on the front line of battling the pandemic, but the Centre-sponsored benefits haven’t reached their intended recipients, Dr R.V. Asokan, general secretary of the Indian Medical Association (IMA), said on Wednesday.

Private doctors are not included under this scheme, Dr Asokan said in a Skype interview with ThePrint. The doctors’ body had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi two weeks ago in this regard but is yet to hear from him, the report added.

“The Rs 50 lakh compensation is only being provided to government doctors who are losing their lives in fighting Covid-19. The government needs to extend this benefit to private practitioners as well,” Asokan said.

“When the pandemic does not differentiate between people, why should benefits and compensations be different?”

Dr Asokan told ThePrint that IMA had written to PM Modi on August 8, when the death toll was 196. “In the last two weeks, the toll has climbed to 273 doctors. Yet, we still haven’t received a response from the central government.”

In its letter, signed by both Asokan and IMA president Rajesh Bhushan, the doctors’ body has requested the Prime Minister to ensure adequate care for doctors and their families, and extend state-sponsored medical and life insurance facilities to doctors in all sectors.

IMA’s findings:

• 1,096 doctors had been infected across India as of August 24
• 901 are practising doctors while the rest are house surgeons and residents
• The mortality rate among private doctors is 15 per cent
• Among government doctors it is 8 per cent
• The mortality rate is highest among general practitioners and neighbourhood doctors
• Over 40 per cent of the doctors who have died were general practitioners, as these doctors are the first line of defence for patients showing Covid symptoms but are not equipped with proper personal protective equipment (PPE)
• Of the doctors who have died, the majority have been in the high-risk group of over 50 years of age
• Of the 273 doctors who have died, 226 were above 50 years of age