With the SC recently asking Centre and NDMA to fix ex gratia for Covid-19 victims’ kin, medical fraternity tries to bring focus on 1,000 plus doctors who have died since start of pandemic
Mortuary staff take away a Covid-19 victim’s body at Nair hospital. File pic
With Covid-19 having been declared a pandemic under the Disaster Management Act and the Supreme Court recently asking the Centre and the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) to decide on ex gratia for the next of kin of victims, the medical fraternity has said that the government must not leave them in the lurch. As per a June 30 order of the Supreme Court, ‘Death due to Covid-19 or Covid-19 related complications’ has to be mentioned in victims’ death certificates so that they can claim compensation.
“As per the Supreme Court’s order, a Covid-19 positive person dying within a specified period will be classified as a Covid-19 death in certificates. Let’s not forget healthcare workers and doctors who died fighting Covid-19. As per the Indian Medical Association (IMA), at least 748 doctors died of Covid-19 in 2020 and over 776 doctors died in the first few months of 2021. Many more nurses, technicians, and support staff in hospitals and clinics have died, too,” said Dr Subhash Hira, professor of Global Health at the University of Washington-Seattle.
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Dr Hira added, “I hope the apex court’s order is applied retrospectively since March 2020 when the pandemic was officially declared in India. We must also consider if the directives correlate with the International Classification of Diseases-10th revision (39 causes on the list) and practices in other countries. For example, concerns were raised that some deaths were being improperly attributed to Covid-19 in the USA. High-quality documentation of co-occurring diagnoses on death certificates is essential for a comprehensive and authoritative public record. With new variants and long-Covid-19 leading to newer comorbidities, a dynamic list of conditions should be framed,” Dr Hira said.
Dr Santosh Kadam, president, IMA, Thane district said, “In the first and ongoing second wave we have lost over 1,500 allopathy doctors who were members of the IMA. In the first wave, around 56 doctors from Maharashtra lost their lives. The data excludes non-IMA members and those registered with AYUSH. The irony is that both central and state governments have not done anything for the next of kin of deceased frontline warriors. Unfortunately, the government has not even bothered to maintain a death registry of frontline warriors.”
Dr Ketan Vagholkar, professor of Surgery, D Y Patil Medical College. said, “Though hospitals mention details of the cause of death for Covid-19 victims in their report to municipal authorities, the final certificate does not mention the cause of death related to Covid-19. This certificate is the final legal document to claim insurance and compensation.”
“Unless Covid-19 is mentioned on the death certificate, next of kin won’t be able to claim government insurance for frontline healthcare workers. Authorities should consider temporary changes and mention death due to Covid-19 on certificates. This will enable speedy settlement of insurance and compensation claims,” said Dr Vagholkar.
Help next of kin
“Our system could not provide quality, affordable and accessible healthcare to patients and many survivors and the next of kin of deceased are still in deep crisis. All such people need the government’s support to establish themselves again,” said Dr Ashish Tiwari, medical director, Inlaks hospital, Mumbai.
Dr Tiwari added, “Apart from giving monetary compensation to very few doctors, the government has not fulfilled its promise to compensate the kin of deceased doctors. This is demotivating for the medical fraternity.”
Dr Wiqar Shaikh, professor of Medicine, Grant Medical College and Sir JJ Group of Hospitals, said that the Supreme Court has directed the central government to frame uniform guidelines within six weeks for ex gratia to Covid-19 victims’ kin. Dr Shaikh said, “Both doctors and the common man are left in the lurch. Some Covid-19 victims were sole breadwinners. So far four lakh have died of the disease in India; one shudders to think of their families’ fates. The six-week deadline to form guidelines is reasonable.”
Dr Shaikh gave the example of Italy, where there is a legal demand to pay 122 million Euros to families of 70,000 Covid-19 victims.
748
No. of doctors who died in 2020 as per IMA
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