BENGALURU: On Sunday, Santosh Unni heaved a sigh of relief when 47 travellers under quarantine for COVID-19 were discharged. Over the last few weeks, the Operations Head at Sapthagiri Hospital on Hessarghatta Main Road, has been working on the double, wading through uncertainties. “It’s one of the toughest situations we have faced so far.
With travellers from Dubai, Australia and the US – all of whom were senior citizens with co-morbidities – in quarantine at our hospital, there has been a lot of tension. Nobody had anticipated a situation like this,” he says. While 16 patients were first admitted on March 20, within a few hours another large group was also brought in. And suddenly, the staff at the hospital found themselves running helter-skelter. “When the first batch was admitted, everyone was scared of the situation, and doctors, nurses and housekeeping staff were running away.
But there were some staffers who stayed back. In addition, support from government doctors really eased the situation,” he says. Even so, staff on duty had their hands full. Unni’s days began at 7am and concluded past 10pm, during which he served meals to patients, looked into activities like helping them walk within a closed space and giving them a space to sing bhajans. Despite this, there was worry looming large among the seniors, and Unni often had to help them cope.
“Some were finicky about the food, some about the masks and sanitisers. For instance, A2B was supplying the food initially but with the clampdown, they had to close their kitchens. As a result, we had to make alternate arrangements and get food from our medical college’s hostel,” he says, adding that there were situations when the admittees got home sick and emotional. Unni’s family too, worried about his safety. “Family obviously wanted me to stay home, but we’re also duty bound,” he says.