NEW DELHI: From personally meeting every patient admitted at Rajiv Gandhi Super Specialty Hospital to following up about their health after getting discharged, over the past six months, Dr Ajeet Jain has left no stone unturned to ensure that more than 1,900 patients infected by coronavirus admitted at the facility get the best treatment that’s available.
“Every patient has my phone number, they call me anytime and I never turn them away. I call all of them to check on their health. After being discharged patients started complaining of post-Covid complexities, it was then that we decided to go for post-Covid care,” said 54-year old Dr Jain, the nodal officer for Covid-19 ward and Post Covid Care OPD at RGSSH.
The initial days were tough, recalled Dr Jain. “It was so bad and scary that parents would hesitate to meet their children and would isolate them completely. The children would feel guilt, suffer from mental trauma and then the fear of societal stigma; what if the locality doesn’t accept them anymore. Even we at times used to get nervous,” he added.
So for Dr Jain, a cardiothoracic and vascular surgeon, the priority was to create a homely environment for the patients This, he believes played a role in the patients battle the psychological trauma. “We had to gain their confidence. People had never experienced isolation earlier, staying away for months from families, that shattered them. Then I started meeting each patient individually.
I would ask them if their tea was hot or whether the meal was sufficient, whether the bathroom clean — we always try to cater to their demands. I wanted them to be able to open up to us. A lot of this disease has to do with the mental part. Once you are confident, half of the battle is won,” Dr Jain said.
Dr Jain also added that unlike what others claim, he didn’t have faced any problem with the patients who contracted the virus from the Tablighi Jamaat congregation.“There were around 130 from the Markaz and they were so grateful about us treating them. I would spend hours and never faced trouble. I guess they were wrongly portrayed,” he said.
Talking about mental health was not an easy subject for the doctor either. Despite staying in the same city, Dr Jain who was honoured with “At-Home Ceremony” by Ram Nath Kovind earlier this year, only connected with his wife and three children virtually for the pat six months. Last week, he finally returned to his house in Kamla Nagar.
“The pandemic brought about such difficult times for families. The tragedies I saw, the pain I witnessed... I pray no one ever gets to see it again. Families couldn’t even meet their loved ones before being cremated... People are there on social media with no friends in real life. They’ve adopted a pattern of living alone. Soon, we all may be stay and survive alone,” he said.