The AIIMS administration has rejected a proposal by its resident doctors’ association to make donations to the PM-Cares Fund voluntary, saying there is no mechanism in place at the institute for such opt-in contributions and asking doctors to “clarify” whether they wanted to contribute to the “noble cause”.

The AIIMS administration had asked all resident doctors to contribute a day’s salary to the PM-Cares fund to aid the government’s effort to fight the Covid-19 pandemic. The AIIMS RDA had on April 4 said the notice for donation without consulting them violated an individual’s right to support the country in the way he prefer.

The AIIMS registrar said in a letter to the heads of departments, chiefs of centres and the RDA president on Wednesday: “In continuation of the appeal dated April 4, the RDA through a letter has stated that the collection of donation be made voluntary (opt-in) and use of funds be done locally for provision of PPEs and other facilities to equip the healthcare workers.

“It may be noted that there is no mechanism currently for an opt-in donation and all such voluntary donations are to be made directly to the charity of choice. There is no provision to collect donations from residents for internal use for provision of PPEs and other facilities to equip the healthcare workers.”

The registrar clarified that the current requirement was the procurement of PPEs rather than the collection of funds from residents for this purpose, adding that adequate funds were available.

“The RDA is therefore advised to clarify whether they wish to contribute for the above noble cause or not. There will be no provision for an opt-in contribution,” the registrar added.

AIIMS RDA general secretary Dr Srinivas Rajkumar said: “The RDA AIIMS is left with the options of either to reject it completely or choose individual opt-out.”

PPE reuse

The AIIMS has released guidelines for the reuse of PPE kits, citing fast depletion of stocks in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak. The institute said disinfection should only be considered as an extraordinary last-resort option.

According to the AIIMS guidelines, decontamination of PPE kits for the purpose of reuse is currently not recommended, primarily because of concerns that it would degrade the performance, especially of the respirator. But then, decontamination and reuse of PPE kits may provide another solution by extending the existing on-hand supplies, the guidelines say.

Quarantine advice

Around 30 healthcare workers including doctors, nurses and technicians at the Cardio-Neuro Centre in AIIMS have been advised to undergo quarantine after a 72-year-old man who visited the facility with neurological problems tested positive for Covid-19, sources said on Wednesday.