There is a severe shortage of hospital staff and this is why 25 Intensive Care Unit (ICU) treatment specialists and 50 Nursing Officers are being recruited from India to strengthen the services in our hospitals.
India as a reinforcement
The Health Minister, Dr. Kailesh Jagutpal had announced in Parliament on Tuesday 16th November that his ministry has made this request for the Covid 19 fight, which he recalled on Tuesday 23rd November in his session. In a communiqué, the Ministry of Labour has confirmed that it will deal with work permits.
So far, the Ministry of Health has only been able to recruit 39 doctors for the Domiciliary Monitoring Unit. But the services and care provided in the hospitals are severely affected due to a lack of staff and a staff population on the verge of burnout. In addition, with the number of admissions to ICU, specialists are badly needed. So this request was made to fill this gap in pandemic management. The government will be seeking foreign assistance in the face of this upsurge in cases, the management of Variant Delta and the increase in deaths. Dr. Jagutpal also made other announcements for the better management of the pandemic.
Fabiflu distributed, Molnupiravir and Tocilizumab to come
Dr. Kailesh Jagutpal announced during his parliamentary session that 1000 boxes of Fabiflu have already been distributed to the 5 regional hospitals and ENT Hospital. The demand for Anti Covid drugs is still increasing. He announced that his ministry has already ordered 1.2 million doses of Molnupiravir. A shipment of 30,000 boxes of Molnupiravir will reach Mauritius in early December. Another contract has been awarded to Trident Healthcare Ltd for the import of 300 doses of Tocilizumab. In addition, 202,000 doses of Pfizer vaccine are expected in December and currently, 350,000 doses of Johnson and Johnson vaccine are available and in use. The Ministry is working on a new vaccination strategy to avoid waiting and queues at the vaccination centres.
Medical oxygen supply
The three private companies that will provide the daily supply in hospitals are Samlo Koyenko ltd, Gaz Carbonique Ltd and Les Gaz Industriels Ltd. The Minister assured that there will be no shortage of oxygen. According to Les Gaz Industriels Ltd, the supply of 20 tonnes of oxygen will be at a price of Rs 95 per kilo. In terms of medical oxygen production, the installation of an Oxygen Generator System at ENT Hospital will be done soon. The services of the Indian company, Medical Product Services was recommended by the Hospital Sevices Consultancy. The letter of award was signed on 10th November and the system will reach Mauritius by the end of December.
