By Prof. (Dr.) Ashok Seth,
The second wave of COVID came like a Tsunami and caught us all unaware. As medical doctors who had been managing COVID patients from the very first wave in 2020, and who had kept abreast with the most recent developments with regards to the virus, the viciousness of the infectivity and steepness of rise in circumstances was shocking. Within a quick period of very first two weeks of April, Delhi and a lot of components of the nation have been engulfed in a healthcare and social nightmare that I have not witnessed in my 45-years of healthcare profession and pray that I do not ever see it once more.
As the healthcare infrastructure got overwhelmed by sheer quantity of COVID patients, the experienced resilience, the courage, and devotion to duty, which the frontline healthcare workers demonstrated was exemplary. By the third week of April, the shortage of beds in the city resulted in only the sickest COVID patients with rising oxygen specifications becoming admitted to hospitals. More medical doctors and nurses have been deployed to COVID wards and the therapy of non-COVID illnesses virtually stopped apart from emergencies. The Emergency Department of a lot of hospitals became like a war zone overfull with patients on stretchers requiring oxygen help and with ambulances standing outdoors with deteriorating patients, and regrettably shortage of higher dependency oxygen beds. The nurses and medical doctors in emergency have been frantically rushing about providing care to all such as the ones in ambulances outdoors, attempting to segregate COVID from non-COVID patients, producing sure all protection protocols have been also maintained to protect against spread and nevertheless treat really distressed patient promptly, comfort really concerned relatives, deal with irate relatives of patients when attempting to make beds and to make assessment and prioritise admission of the neediest. And all this was performed when wearing complete PPE for in some cases 12-hours at a stretch in which one feels really uncomfortable as can not even go to the bathroom or drink water. The COVID wards have been no distinctive, restricted quantity of ICU and ventilator beds required prioritization, shifting of deteriorating patients from HDU beds to ICU. As all patients have been sick the selection of who was sickest of the sicker was not effortless and weighed heavily on each and every doctor’s thoughts. While becoming concerned and saddened a lot of occasions that a deteriorating patient may possibly succumb, every single medical professional continued to fight for patients’ lives providing the highest level of crucial care experience, giving self-confidence, comfort and hope to all. Added to this really shortly have been handful of really distressing scenarios: all medical doctors have been getting at least 50 or more phone calls/messages day-to-day from patients, relatives, good friends suffering from COVID, a lot of of them requiring oxygen and requesting (in some cases pleading) for admission, it was panic at its worst…a heartrending situation. It would have been effortless for a lot of medical doctors to shut the phones off and concentrate on treating in hospital patients only, but virtually all medical doctors decided that they owed it to every single particular person who was suffering from COVID even if unable to get admission, every single patient required to be advised, treated, comforted, and handheld and provided the self-confidence to recover devoid of panic. I know of a lot of medical doctors who had their personal households, close to and dear relatives impacted by COVID through this time, some of these relatives became severe and could not be admitted to the hospital, some of the medical doctors got COVID and have been in isolation and however amid concern and care of their personal family they continued to execute their duties to care for all patients who required support even by way of messages. To add to the aggravation was the lack of drugs and of oxygen, no one’s fault…the surge was vicious and unprecedented, the utilisation of such amounts of drugs and oxygen was an aberration, no one even us medical doctors could have foreseen it, it does take time to ramp up supplies. But it was really depressing for us as medical doctors to hear pleas of patients operating pillar to post for oxygen beds and really feel helpless about it. Many medical doctors applied digital media to make understanding and awareness, educate patients and basic physicians and provide self-confidence to the public. In the middle of the evening, when I would sit down to gather my thoughts, I ought to confess that I was worried and scared for my family members some of whom had COVID and my personal wellbeing questioning when I would catch COVID as was the case with a lot of other doctors….it was unreal, it felt as if an alien had invaded us and that we had no weapons to beat the enemy. But the really next morning we would get our self-confidence back to move ahead and support other people. Many medical doctors felt like soldiers fighting the war with depleting ammunition in attempting to save the nation but knew that the nation was relying on the medical doctors, it was the doctor’s selfless duty….to bury individual sorrows, grief, fears, family issues and nevertheless have self-confidence, comfort and smiles on their face so that patients could see HOPE.
In this second wave of COVID more than 800-medical doctors lost their lives due to COVID in the line of duty in the service of their nation and its folks. Our respect and prayers for them as they sacrificed their lives so that other could live.
Thankfully, due to the timely efforts of policy authorities and Government, the second wave has passed but the threat of third wave looms. To fight the third wave, we ought to comprehend the emotional exhaustion left behind by the second wave on the medical doctors and nurses. It is saddening that amid all this we also had a number of reports of assault on healthcare workers exactly where grieved relatives take their anger out on the medical doctors. It is not just saddening but is deplorable and not acceptable. Strict laws to protect against violence against medical doctors need to have to be framed and implemented. Doctors are our most significant resource in our fight against COVID, we need to have to appreciate their commitment, respect their sacrifices, increase their morale, and care for their feelings. As a Society, this is one of the most significant actions we can take to be with each other in this fight against COVID and to win.
LET Each and every DAY BE A DOCTOR’S DAY.
(The author is Chairman, Fortis Escorts Heart Institute and Fortis Healthcare Medical Councils. Views expressed are individual and do not reflect the official position or policy of the TheSpuzz Online.)