The state health department has created a helpdesk at the Beleghata ID hospital, which has been treating coronavirus patients, to coordinate the pick up-drop off of nurses.

Metro had on Friday reported of a video in circulation that showed nurses of the hospital saying they did not get dropped home two hours after their shift had ended on Thursday.

In the same video they could be heard complaining about the lack of basic amenities like water, food and mattresses in the nursing college building on the hospital premises where some of them had been staying put.

Doctors and nurses had alleged the hospital lacked accommodation facility, a health department official told Metro on Thursday. Those in need of accommodation have been staying at three hotels near the hospital from Thursday night, the official said.

“We assembled at the helpdesk on Friday morning and people in charge there immediately told us when cars would leave and the routes they would take,” a nurse said. “We did not have to wait for more than 10 minutes.”

A nurse’s 12-hour night shift at the hospital ends at 8am.

One of the nurses had told Metro on Thursday that they usually waited for two to three hours at night for a pick-up car to arrive.

After the video went viral, health department officials had visited the hospital on Thursday to speak to nurses about their grievances.

They had assured the nurses that their grievances would be addressed.

“We have spoken to the hospital authorities so that transport is not issue anymore. If nurses cannot go home on time how can they serve patients battling the virus,” the health department official said.

He said some health professionals from the hospital had begun staying in the hotels. Sixty-four rooms in three hotels have been booked to accommodate them, the official said. “They are being provided with transport from the hotels to the hospital and back.”

Another nurse said food, water and mattress had been taken care of in the nursing college.

Another health department official said steps had been taken to maintain “abundant supply of quality personal protective equipment (PPE)” for doctors, nurses and the other members of the medical staff.

“We had received complaints from some health workers that they did not get adequate PPE gear. They had alleged that they were using overused PPE,” the official said. “We have asked the company entrusted with supplying PPE to provide fresh stock in abundance. The health department will not compromise on quality and availability.”