The Monday crowding at the Goa Medical College andHospital Complex in Bambolim by prospective candidates for Multi-Tasking Staff(MTS) vacancies paints a distressful and disturbing picture. More than theState health ministry's mismanagement, it shows us the point of desperation thecommon man has reached to secure livelihoods in a grim Covid scenario. Amulti-tasking job has become much sought after, and applicants have momentarilyignored all life-threatening fears. The 6-month contractual vacancy and ameagre salary of less than Rs 18,000 fail to be deterrent either.
Nearly one thousand applicants crammed in queues at theGMC armed with documents and restlessly waited for their turn to answerinterviews for the 85 posts of Multi-Tasking Staff advertised recently. Thedesperation of getting a job at this crucial time is as clear as daylight. At atime when the economy is on a downward spiral and cash in hand in diminishing,survival has been the biggest worry for the common man, which is why jobs are aprimary focus, irrespective of the definition of work.
If we may state, multi-tasking staff, are frontline footsoldiers in this Covid battle and are required to go through a rigorous workschedule fraught with personal risks. They undertake a variety of menial jobsand are exposed to infections since they work in proximity to patients. Theirjob mandates transfer of patients from wards, washing or disposal of medicalequipment and even handling dead bodies. Going by past experiences, the MTS jobhasn't been encouraging too. The skeletal staff at the ESI hospital wereexposed to severe challenges in the initial phase and had to work on extendedshifts spanning across four months.
The struggle for jobs is one side of the story. On theflip side, the health ministry has once again flattered to deceive on Covidmanagement. At a time when the death toll is mounting and re-infection becomingthe new discourse, the pressing need is to follow social distancing norms andstrictly abide by the laid down protocol. It's a pity that while the State iscontemplating following MHA's Unlock-5, the government is consistently failingto put mechanisms in place and enforcing protocol even where it matters.
The crowded picture at Goa's premier hospital, the nervecentre of the State's healthcare, only goes to highlight the fact thatministers are only paying lip service to social distancing. Any crowding duringthis Covid time is not only going to be risky to individuals but will also putthe lives of others in peril. Interviews should have been conducted in batchesto ensure there is no crowding, and there should have been strict monitoring ofcandidates.
The government must practise what it preaches. For allthe trials and errors of judgement, it has still not learnt lessons on Covidmanagement, neither has it felt the pulse of the common man.
