Following the exposure of three doctors to an HIV-positive patient in a government hospital here, the Junior Doctors Association (JDA) has said its members would not perform any surgeries unless they were provided kits to protect them from the disease.
"The JDA is of the opinion that it should be made compulsory for suspected patients to undergo the test for determining the HIV infection to avoid such incidents in the future," Madhya Pradesh JDA general secretary Anand Rai told reporters here today."However, the guidelines set by the National Aids Control Organisation (NACO) and an apex court judgement in this regard prevents medicos from forcing a person to undergo the blood test for checking for HIV as long as he or she is not willing," V P Pandey of M Y Government Hospital said.
Rai said earlier too, various persons were exposed to HIV during such incidents in the absence of proper kits in hospitals and these cases had affected them mentally. He warned the doctors would not perform surgeries if they were not provided the kits within three days.
In the present case, the surgery was performed in an emergency situation and though the patient was aware of the HIV infection, the test could not be conducted for verifying it and three doctors and a technician were exposed to the virus, Rai said.
"This situation could have been avoided if the doctors and supporting staff were provided with emergency kits in time to deal with the situation," he said.
Source:PTI News
