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COVID-19: Delhi Nurses Mourn First Nursing Staff To Die In Capital, Kerala MPs Write To Modi And Kejriwal

Several nurses also told the Indian Express discarded PPEs were being rotated among nurses at Delhi's Kalra hospital, where Ambika worked.
Ambika PK
Facebook/ Joldin Francis
Ambika PK

Nurses across hospitals in Delhi-NCR observed a minute of silence for Ambika PK, a nurse at Kalra Hospital, who died at Delhi’s Safdarjung Hospital on Sunday.

The United Nurses’ Association told the Indian Express she was the first nursing officer to have died of Covid-19-related complications in the national capital.

The 46-year-old had been admitted to the hospital on May 21 after she had difficulty breathing. She later tested positive for COVID-19.

Ambika’s son told Express’s Somya Lakhani, “My mother’s condition deteriorated so rapidly… I couldn’t understand how to get here sooner. Over a week ago, she mentioned that the hospital was making her reuse PPE and charging money for masks. I got agitated and told her to just stay at home, but she didn’t listen to me. She continued working, and now she is dead.”

Several nurses also told the newspaper discarded PPEs were being rotated among nurses at the hospital. (Read full report)

Hospital owner Dr R N Kalra and nurses-in-charge at the hospital have denied the allegations and said employees had been provided adequate PPE and hand sanitisers.

Ambika reportedly hailed from Kottayam in Kerala.

Kerala MP Anto Antony wrote to Delhi CM Kejriwal asking his government to release Rs 1 crore as compensation for the nurse’s family. Antony also wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi asking for the Ambika’s insurance cover to be granted to her family.

“Her untimely death raises several questions regarding the safety of nurses working (in) hospitals, especially in private hospital and clinics in the country.”

According to Express, CPIM’s Rajya Sabha MP from Kerala KK Ragesh also wrote to Kejriwal, asking him to “take urgent measures to ensure that hospitals are taking all mandatory measures to ensure safety of health workers.”

UNA had last month written to Kejriwal saying the increasing instances of COVID-19 infection among nurses in Delhi was “unacceptable” and that the government needed to take action to stop this as soon as possible.

Protest at Mumbai’s KEM hospital

Mumbai’s KEM hospital on Tuesday witnessed huge protests by medical staff and other employees over the death of a hospital worker who had been denied leave when he fell ill, NDTV reported.

The worker had been posted at the COVID ward of KEM hospital, which is run by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation.

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This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost India, which closed in 2020. Some features are no longer enabled. If you have questions or concerns about this article, please contact indiasupport@huffpost.com.