Nurses and other healthcare workers resumed work at the Sadar Hospital here on Tuesday following an FIR against a doctor and a community health centre (CHC) officer for not discharging their duties at one of the largest Covid care facilities in the state capital.

As per details shared by officials from Sadar Hospital, an FIR was lodged by the district administration under the provisions of the Disaster Management Act against Dr Kirti Tripathi of Pithoria and Purnima Baik, a nurse at a CHC in Namkum, on Monday night after the absence of nurses and doctors left several Covid patients unattended in the hospital.

“Most of the nurses have resumed work today (Tuesday). The situation is now under control in the hospital,” said Ranchi’s acting civil surgeon Dr. Vinod Kumar.

An official from the Ranchi district administration said that legal action would be taken in future against such healthcare workers who refuse to discharge their duties during this time of crisis. However, he requested not to be named.

There are 200 general beds and 60 ICU beds earmarked for Covid-19 patients in Sadar Hospital. The government had roped in more than 100 nurses from CHCs to attend to Covid patients in the hospital as the facility did not have sufficient nurses on its rolls. However, the outsourced nurses from CHCs went on a strike on Sunday demanding payment of an additional Rs 15,000 per month, promised to them and pending for three months among other financial benefits, doctors said.

Some nurses refused to administer medicines and injections to patients on Monday citing different excuses. The Civil Surgeon had to intervene and get injections administered to many Covid patients till the wee hours of Tuesday with the help of medical staff other than the nurses.

“I stayed in the hospital till late in the night to ensure that patients get the medicines and prescribed injections. We were in a helpless position, but the situation is under control now as nurses have started returning to work,” said Dr Kumar.

Vinay Kumar, a Covid patient who told The Telegraph Online that nurses refused to administer Remdesivir injection to him, on Tuesday said that he was given the injection by a nursing staff late on Monday after his family and friends contacted the Civil Surgeon and requested him to intervene.

However, the shortage of beds continued to haunt patients on Tuesday as well. Almost all beds in Covid wards of Sadar Hospital were occupied and only critically-ill patients, in need of oxygen support, were prioritised, doctors said.

The active caseload in Ranchi has reached close to 17,000, mounting extra pressure on the limited number of Covid beds in the district. The government is also planning to come up with new Covid care centres in order to ensure availability of beds for patients in need.