ISLAMABAD: On the intervention of Speaker National Assembly Asad Qaiser, the Ministry of National Health Services (NHS) has decided to pay the Covid-19 health risk allowance to the frontline health workers.

However, the healthcare workers complained that the ministry wanted to pay the allowance to selected employees despite the fact that all healthcare workers faced the risk of contracting the virus.

Last year, the health risk allowance was paid to a majority of healthcare workers but there were complaints that some of them were paid more compared to others.

During a session of the National Assembly on June 28, the speaker pointed out that the healthcare workers had not been paid the Covid-19 health risk allowance for 11 months.

“I direct the secretary Ministry of National Health Services (NHS) to address the issue till noon by June 29,” he had said.

Hospital heads told to submit lists of employees by July 5

However, the next day no progress was made due to which employees of the National Institute of Health (NIH) held a protest and threatened to suspend the screening of passengers at the airport. Because of the protest, citizens visiting the NIH for Covid-19 tests suffered.

The ministry in a letter to hospitals on July 1 said a meeting was held with the executive directors/heads of departments and they were requested to submit lists of eligible healthcare workers performing Covid-19 related duties for finalisation of the risk allowance.

However, the institutes did not clearly differentiate between employees who directly treated coronavirus patients and those who did not. This resulted in the delay in the payment of risk allowance which eventually caused unrest among the employees, it added.

The ministry on Saturday said the hospitals have been directed to submit the lists of healthcare workers performing Covid-19 duties by July 5.

Chairman Grand Health Alliance, Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims), Dr Asfandyar Khan told Dawn that the letter showed that the ministry was not serious in paying the allowance.

“It is a risk allowance rather than a duty allowance and all healthcare workers faced the risk of contracting the virus. Our doctors and staff, who did not serve in corona wards, died of the virus. Now it is being said that the allowance will be paid to only those serving in Covid wards. I suggest that 100pc allowance should be given to those who served in the Covid wards and 50pc to those who served in other departments such as in emergencies,” he said.

Dr Khan, who is also a surgeon, said just a few days ago he and his team had to amputate a leg of a Covid positive patient.

“We did it even though the patient was positive for Covid-19 as it was necessary to save his life. We have handled a number of similar cases but now the ministry is saying that we don’t deserve the risk allowance,” he said.

Meanwhile, after four days, the number of positive cases and the positivity rate slightly decreased in the capital.

Officials said in the last 24 hours, 2,225 tests were conducted and 66 people were found infected with a 2.96pc positivity rate.

On June 29, 23 cases were reported with 1.16pc positivity rate followed by 33 on June 30 (1.74pc), 54 on July 1 (1.94pc) and 73 on July 2 with 3.73pc positivity rate.

In the last 24 hours, 36 patients recovered, said the officials.

Rawalpindi

As many as 19 people tested positive of Covid-19 and seven patients were discharged from hospitals in the last 24 hours in the Rawalpindi district.

There are currently 179 active patients. As many as 41 patients are in hospitals and 138 home isolated.

Total eight patients arrived from the garrison city - four from the cantonment, two each from Potohar Town and Rawal Town, three from Gujar Khan, two each from Kallar Syedan, Kotli Sattian and Taxila and one from Murree.

Of the new patients, 14 were admitted in Holy Family Hospital, eight in Benazir Bhutto Hospital (BBH), 10 in Rawalpindi Institute of Urology (RIU) and nine in Fauji Foundation Hospital (FFH).

There is one patient on a ventilator, 33 are on oxygen and seven are stable.

According to District Health Authority, 730,912 people have so far been vaccinated, including 31,808 frontline health workers. — Additional reporting by Aamir Yasin

Published in Dawn, July 4th, 2021