Priyanka Vadra & Congress take up AIIMS doctors' appeal; says 'hope Centre listens'

Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Monday urged the Central Government to provide the Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) to the medical staff as requested by the AIIMS doctors association. She added that it is "our collective responsibility" to protect their equipment, their honour and their voices.

'Hope that our govt will hear the plea'

"In this critical time, doctors, health workers and sanitation workers are the leading soldiers of this fight. It is our collective responsibility to protect their equipment, their honour and their voices. Hope that our government will hear the plea made by the AIIMS doctors association," Vadra said in a tweet in Hindi.

'They have received a harsh backlash'

Earlier on Monday, Resident Doctor's Association (RDA) of AIIMS, Delhi, had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi over 'targeting of doctors for raising genuine concerns related to COVID-19 preparedness'.

"Over the last few days, our frontline healthcare workers-doctors, nurses and other support staff have come forward with their problems and issues related to the availability of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), COVID testing equipment and quarantine facilities, on social media. The officials should view these inputs constructively," read the letter by the RDA.

"Instead of appreciating their efforts towards the welfare of their peers and patient, they have received a harsh backlash. In the face of the Corona pandemic, it is the responsibility of the government to ensure that these 'soldiers' are heard, their opinion respected, rather than humiliated," it said.

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The total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in India has risen to 4,281 with 3,851 of them being active cases. The death toll has risen to 111, while 319 people have been cured and discharged, as per the Health Ministry's update on Monday evening.

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(With agency inputs)