Two doctors working at Jorhat Medical College and Hospital (JMCH) in Assam have resigned, purportedly due to work pressure owing to COVID-19 pandemic.
Sankarjyoti Parashar and Priyanka Changmai, both assistant professors, have tendered their resignations to the JMCH authorities.
Speaking to local TV channels, Changmai said: “The COVID duty was being given very frequently. After completing one period of COVID duty, we got only four days of rest before being again placed on COVID duty.”
“Exposure to infectious disease for such long periods puts us more at risk of contracting the infection ourselves. It could hamper our physical and mental wellbeing; and in such a scenario, we will not be in a position to take care of ourselves, our families or our patients,” she added.
Parashar maintained that there were problems at his home front due to the extended working hours, and though he had approached the authorities with his situation, there was no relief forthcoming.
Reacting to the two resignations, state Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma equated them to soldiers who flee the battlefield. “If during a war, a soldier flees the battlefield, the army doesn’t worship them as heroes even if they had done commendable work earlier,” he said.
