Covid-19 dilemma for medical staff

Dar es Salaam. Health minister, Ms Ummy Mwalimu, yesterday said the protection of health workers is a government priority, as she moved to pacify medics who have raised concern about the shortage of protective gear for front-line medical personnel.

Ms Mwalimu reassured health workers that medical supplies, including the said protective gears, have been ordered to bridge the current shortage.

“Shortage of protective equipment is a big concern not only here in Tanzania but in many other countries around the world as we fight Covid-19. The position of the government is that we are protecting health workers and that’s why we have ordered for more protective equipment,” she told The Citizen yesterday.

Medics say the shortage of protective gear for staff in various health facilities across the country was undermining efforts to curb the spread of coronavirus. Ending the shortage of protective gear for health workers, according to the president of the Medical Association of Tanzania (MAT), Dr Elisha Osati, is increasingly becoming necessary as the country is now in the phase of community transmission of the coronavirus.

“We are in a situation where a doctor or nurse is dealing with a patient who may harbour coronavirus but does not display symptoms. The N-95 masks, coverall and the scrubs we need are all in short supply. This is a professional dilemma we are faced with. What do we do?’’ queriesd Dr Osati, who heads MAT which is a professional body that safeguards the interests of all medical professionals in Tanzania.

Earlier, Ms Mwalimu expressed concern that some health workers were abandoning patients who displayed symptoms of Covid-19. The minister noted that patients with symptoms such as high fever or cough could also be suffering from other diseases other than Covid-19.

“I have noted that some patients are being abandoned. This is not right. Health workers are not supposed to abandon patients. They should care for the patients in whatever situation by following the National Infection Prevention and Control Guidelines for Healthcare Services,’’ she told a group of health workers at Mnazi Mmoja Hospital in Dar es Salaam during an event to receive Covid-19 donations from Azania Group on Friday.

Globally, healthcare workers face a threat of getting infected as they care for Covid-19 patients. Hundreds of them have died amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Recently, the World Health Organisation (WHO) Director General Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus said, “Even when we do every little thing else proper, if we do not prioritise defending the well-being of employees many individuals will die as a result of sickness by someone who might have saved their lives.”

And, for health workers who are on the frontline, taking care of the Covid-19 patients, the MAT president Dr Osati says, they need adequate Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs) which are also in short supply. PPEs are protective clothing, helmets, goggles, or other garments or equipment designed to protect the health worker’s body from injury or infection.

“As the president of MAT, I receive lots of complaints from medical staff who are worried about the shortages. As a clinician, I also have faced situations where I have been called in to review a patient with other conditions but who is highly suspicious of being Covid-19 positive; but I have no the required protective gear around to attend to such a patient,’’ he explains.

“I am thankful that there have been some stakeholders who started donating some protective gear and the government is trying to intervene. We need more of such interventions so that we can protect critical staff and stop the spread of the virus,” he added.

Asked about reports that medics were abandoning patients, he said: “There is no professional health worker who refuses to treat Covid-19 patients. We are following the treatment protocols but those protocols require us to be fully protected.”

According to the National Coordinator for Civid-19 response, who is also the Health ministry’s Public Health Emergencies’ Risk Communication officer Dr Tumaini Haonga, the shortage of PPEs for health workers has been attributed to the rising cases of Covid-19 in the country. Until yesterday, 299 people had been confirmed positive in Tanzania mainland and Zanzibar but on Friday, 37 patients were reported to have recovered from the disease. There are 11 known deaths.

“Looking at the number of health workers we need to take care of, it means that protective gear will not be enough too. We insist that health workers who are not on the frontline at Covid-19 treatment centres should only use equipment that can protect them when offering preliminary treatment,’’ explained Dr Haonga.

“We have enough medical supplies but not protective equipment. That’s why the Ministry of Health and development partners are now working to solve the challenge,’’ he added.

At Amana Regional Referral Hospital which is a designated centre for Covid-19 treatment, a medical specialist Dr Stanley Binagi yesterday said the need for protective gear and other medical supplies is a big challenge to the facility.

Dr Binagi spoke during an event to receive Sh15 million of equipment from WIPAHS. He said, “This Covid-19 pandemic has come at a time when we were not well prepared. But we are trying in all ways to handle the situation. Such donations are a huge contribution to us,’’ said Dr Binagi. A health officer who received the donations on behalf of the facility, Juhudi Nyambuke, said there is a huge demand for protective equipment.

Additional reporting by Elias Msuya and Bakari Kiango.