Indian doctors in the UK on Thursday called on the UK government to take urgent steps to address the growing pressures on the state-funded National Health Service (NHS) by cancelling all non-urgent surgeries for greater focus on the fight against the rapid spread of COVID-19, which has claimed 104 lives across Britain.
The British Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (BAPIO), the UK's largest representative body for Indian-origin doctors, wrote to England's Chief Medical Officer (CMO) to express solidarity during the coronavirus pandemic crisis and said that Indian doctors stand shoulder to shoulder alongside other frontline healthcare workers but required adequate support.
BAPIO has received concerns from frontline staff about elective work still being performed in some hospitals. BAPIO is of the view that any non-urgent elective work should be cancelled at this time, reads the letter addressed to CMO Prof. Chris Whitty by BAPIO President Ramesh Mehta and Secretary Parag Singhal.
"BAPIO also supports the case for protective gear to be made available to all frontline staff. We are aware the government is working towards achieving this, the letter notes, in reference to widespread concerns within the UK medical community of a shortage of safety gear such as face masks and aprons, classified as Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).
Prime Minister Boris Johnson told Parliament on Wednesday that the government would ensure stockpiles of PPE, adding: "There is a massive effort going on, comparable to the effort to build enough ventilators, to ensure that we have adequate supplies of PPE equipment not just now, but throughout the outbreak."
BAPIO, which represents nearly 60,000 Indian-origin doctors working within the NHS, also reiterated its earlier request for all frontline medical staff to be tested on a priority basis so that they can continue with their work of saving lives.
"BAPIO believes that the symptomatic frontline workers and their family members should be tested. This would help in identifying negative cases thus enabling the frontline staff to return to their duties and support their colleagues, the letter added.
The association also offered the CMO the support of a BAPIO-supported independent think tank, Our NHS Our Concern, with Emergency Department model to look at solutions and an innovative approach to tackling health crises.
It came as an Indian-origin general practitioner (GP), Saumya Jha, who is self-isolating after developing symptoms of COVID-19, made an online appeal for such GPs in the UK be able to work remotely. She said she felt fit enough to talk to patients over the phone and triage from home and called on the government to consider those options.
The UK government has imposed strict self-isolation measures in place and called on everyone to avoid non-essential social contact and travel as the number of confirmed coronavirus cases mounted to 2,626. London is seen as the epicentre of the outbreak, with over a third of the cases, and is heading towards even more stringent lockdown measures.
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