Coronavirus - India: ‘Can't do this alone,’ doctors treating COVID-19 patients at a Mumbai hospital break down, as nurses go on strike

As the Indian state of Maharashtra grapples with a high number of COVID-19 cases and the tropical cyclone Nisarga, in a Twitter video, three resident doctors at Mumbai's King Edward Mumbai Hospital, were seen breaking down, as they said: “We can’t do it alone.” Nurses in the hospital, went on a strike on Monday, and refused to work, demanding a separate ward for colleagues infected by the COVID-19 virus. The video highlighting how challenging it was for the doctors, to care for 25 critically-ill COVID-19 patients, without the help of nurses, went viral.

The video shows a doctor dressed in protective equipment heard saying: "This is KEM Hospital, Ward 4. For the last several hours there is no staff nurse. We are managing 25 critical patients, and only three resident doctors are continuously working to keep them alive.”

"We need health workers and we need staff nurses. We can't do this alone. There are very sick patients right now," the doctor added.

Tweep @amirniv posted: “Nurses and staff on strike, demand access to #coronavirus swab tests and specific beds for nurses who test positive for #covid19.”

They returned to work the same day after the hospital’s dean, reportedly, assured them a separate ward was under construction. Doctors have warned that a future shortage of staff could mean an increase in coronavirus-related deaths.

Tweep @ShroffMinal tweeted: “… condition is very bad in our Mumbai hospitals. KEM and Sion Hospitals are facing so many problems. Help our doctors and nurses…”

According to ndtv.com, the nurses’ protest had been fueled when there was a delay in finding a bed for one of the staff nurses, who contracted the novel coronavirus while caring for a patient at the hospital.

Mumbai is in urgent need of more doctors and nurses, with spiraling cases of COVID-19. The city crossed the 42,000-mark positive cases, on Tuesday.

Moreover, in Mumbai, at least four hospitals have been placed under quarantine, after outbreaks emerged among nurses and staff. At least 215 doctors, and 310 nurses have tested positive for COVID-19 in the state of Maharashtra, reportedly.

In late May, Maharashtra had sought Kerala's assistance in the managing the pandemic in Mumbai, requesting 50 experienced doctors and 100 nurses from the southern state. Following the request, on Monday, Kerala sent a team of medical staff to Mumbai.

Meanwhile, the state of Maharashtra has recorded over 72,300 COVID-19 cases, the highest in the country.