BENGALURU: A change in routine is not new to Dr Srivatsa Lokeshwaran. In fact, one could say that is the only constant he has witnessed in his eight years of service in the department of pulmonology at Aster CMI Hospital. Currently, the interventional pulmonology consultant is preparing for the worst. “We are prioritising our work so as to identify patients who might be carrying symptoms of COVID-19. We have a dedicated flu clinic where we screen the patients. We also have a dedicated ward and an ICU in case of extreme cases,” says Lokeshwaran.
His day begins in the wee hours of the morning, when he is required to don personal protective equipment (PPE). It involves wearing three-layers of clothing, followed by dealing with patients who are “running short on patience or high on panic.” “Anybody with a cough or cold thinks that they might have COVID-19. Another myth is that the government is under-testing. There are a lot of enquiries that are non-specific, so a lot of our time goes into counselling and reassuring them,” says Lokeshwaran.
The doctor asserts that attending to regular patients during the day doesn’t stop since this involves various chronic patients. He adds,“We have patients with asthma and COPD who are also susceptible to the virus, so we attend to them as well. We also have a tele-consultation facility to attend to patients who have a fear of getting infected and are immunosuppressed.”
Like every other doctor on the frontlines of this pandemic, Lokeshwaran too carries home a worry of infecting his family, which comprises elderly parents and kids. “But if you look at the bigger picture, it’s not too bad but we need to protect our population, especially the elderly. They may be small in number but a big number of sacrifices are required,” he says.