The reputation of Ganesh Das Hospital has been unfairly tainted following wild accusations made against the institution’s authorities over the recent death of a nurse working there, Director of Health Services, Dr Aman Warr said today.
Manisha Turnia, a nurse who was six months pregnant, died on May 30 of Covid-19, prompting furious questions from the public and civic groups of her employer, the state-run Ganesh Das Hospital. An inquiry has been launched into her death.
A social media post by a family friend exploded as it accused the hospital of denying Turnia leave. However, this was later retracted, though Ampareen Lyngdoh MLA said the next day that she had been told by Turnia’s family that the nurse did not request leave because she assumed it would be denied as the hospital was facing a staff shortage. Therefore, she continued working despite pregnant women facing added risks from the coronavirus.
Today, Dr Warr stood up for the state hospital, saying, “People on the pretext of one social media post have plastered Ganesh Das Hospital with mud.”
Sadly, Turnia is not the only health worker to have died due to Covid, a disease they are at high risk of contracting given their duties.
In 2020 there were 441 health workers who contracted the coronavirus, with two of these becoming fatalities. This year, however, there have been 411 up to May 31, with nine deaths.
Dr Warr added that the nurse’s family have expressed anguish at the maligning of the hospital and that Turnia had not applied for leave in writing.
There is no blanket denial of leave for medical staff, the DHS said, informing that 85 nurses have been granted leave from December last year to May this year.
In 2020 Turnia was on Covid duty but, following her pregnancy, she was moved to the female surgical ward. She had been working at Ganesh Das since 2015 after being transferred there from Mairang’s Tirot Sing Memorial Hospital.
“The nurse was sincere, quite dedicated, hardworking and selfless, putting patients before anything else,” Dr Warr stated.
