SC to Centre: Consider breaks for doctors on Covid duty

Hearing a suo motu case on proper treatment of Covid-19 patients and dignified handling of dead bodies in hospitals, the Supreme Court Tuesday expressed concern that the non-stop service rendered by doctors may be taking a toll on their mental health, and suggested the Centre to consider giving them a break from work.

“For the last seven-eight months doctors have not been given any break and are continuously working. It might be affecting their mental health,” observed the bench of Justices Ashok Bhushan, R Subhash Reddy and M R Shah, asking Solicitor General Tushar Mehta to take instructions on what can be done.

The bench, which during the course of hearing the matter earlier had taken suo motu cognisance of the fire in Covid-19 hospitals in Rajkot and Ahmedabad in Gujarat, had sought information on fire safety in Covid-19 hospitals across the country.

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Mehta had told the court that the Centre had written to the states to conduct a fire safety audit and forward the details to it.

On Tuesday, Mehta pointed out that the Centre had filed an affidavit after compiling the data received from different states and said the picture is not rosy.