Association also says accommodation was not being arranged for doctors

The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Resident Doctors’ Association has alleged that the administration and CSR section has redirected the 50 lakh from Bharat Dynamics to the PM-CARES fund rather than meeting the original purpose of buying personal protection equipment. AIIMS has denied this stating that funds were not received in the first place.

AIIMS RDA also said that the hostel superintendent had not been able to arrange accommodation despite instruction to cut travel time for doctors.

”We met with the administration on Wednesday and told them of our concerns and requested that all personal protection equipment will have to meet the safety standards prescribed by the Health Ministry and that neither doctors nor other patients should be put at risk of catching the infection. “Jugaad” PPE will not work,” said AIIMS RDA general secretary Srinivas Rajkumar T. on Thursday.

He added that the funds being re-directed was a serious issue.

Responding to the allegation, AIIMS said that the statement was baseless.

It said that no funds have been released by Bharat Dynamics to AIIMS. The AIIMS RDA had informed the administration that Bharat Dynamics was interested in providing funds to procure PPE and other equipment but despite having spoken to Bharat Dynamics on the matter, the funds were not released.

AIIMS is currently taking care of 150 suspected COVID-19 patients at its Jhajjar hospital and is committed to provide the best care to its patients while ensuring safety of its medical staff, the administration said.

AIIMS RDA has also written to the Central Government about the recent assault on a doctor treating a COVID-19 patient at Gandhi Hospital, Hyderabad.

“It is extremely disheartening to know that such events continue unabated even when this country is going through this massive pandemic. Such actions would destroy the morale of frontline healthcare workers deployed in such a testing situation,” said AIIMS RDA in its letter.