Delhi govt allows its hospitals to hire doctors, nurses, including retired staff

The Delhi government has allowed all its hospitals to hire doctors, nurses, and other staff, including those who have retired, to take care of critically ill patients as the city continues reporting a high number of coronavirus disease (Covid-19) cases.

Nearly 24,000 cases have been reported on an average each day during the last seven days in Delhi. The city has just over 21,000 beds earmarked for the treatment of patients with the viral infection, of which nearly 20,000 beds are already occupied, as per the government’s Delhi Corona app.

The government has allowed all heads of hospitals to hire retired specialists, consultants, dental or AYUSH practitioners, nurses and nursing orderlies at a fixed monthly honorarium for a period of six months. The salary will range from ₹140,000 for specialists to ₹20,250 for a nursing orderly, as per the order by the officer on special duty (health and family welfare) Ashish Chandra Verma.

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In addition, the hospitals can also hire other working specialists, consultants, medical students, nurses, and security guards for a period of three months, as per their need. Any such staff will be paid ₹15,000 per shift for a consultant to ₹800 for a security guard, the second order said.

With intensive care units in the city running full, the government has decided to set up 1,200 makeshift ICU beds just like the DRDO facility. “All ICU beds are full. The Central government gave us 500 ICU beds at the DRDO [Defence Research and Development Organisation] facility in Delhi Cantt, but all beds got filled in just three hours,” Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal said on Tuesday.