An association of doctors working at the government hospitals in West Bengal has written to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, requesting her to allow use of mobile phones by non-critical COVID-19 patients in their wards as the ban on cell phone usage is causing mental stress for these people, an official said.
If a patient is "clinically stable", the person should be allowed to use mobile handsets, the Association of Health Service Doctors, a left-wing organisation, said in the letter.
Referring to the cremation of COVID-19 victims at an isolated place in the absence of family members, the association said the near ones should not be denied to pay their last respects.
"The close ones of the deceased should be granted permission to be present during the funeral," the association's general secretary Manas Gumta said in the letter.
The doctors' body also recommended a fixed schedule of video-conference to enable patient parties to communicate with the patients.
A simple mechanism should be developed for the daily update of patients' health condition to the family members in case of unavailability of mobile phones in COVID-19 wards, the organisation said.
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