KOCHI: It has been more than three months since Dr Nisam M last met his parents at his native place in Malappuram as the number of Covid patients has been rising in recent months after a lull earlier this year. He has been working at the Covid cell at the Ernakulam General Hospital for the last nearly 11 months.
“It’s tough now. We have been fighting this battle for a while and it seems a never-ending one. With the second wave hitting the state, the situation has become worse. I feel helpless at times,” said Dr Nizam, 28. “As I walk into the ICU, all I could see are patients suffering. And the worst is seeing them die. No common man can ever imagine what we are going through. Ever since the outbreak of Covid-19, none of us have got a break. We have been working day and night to save lives,” he said.
“Life is tough inside the Covid ward,” added Reshma Mohandas, a nurse at Kottayam Medical College Hospital. “Seeing young patients falling sick and being helpless in reducing their pain makes me devastated,” she said. Doctors, nurses, support staff and even non-hospital workers, in primary care, are being pushed to their limits with no definitive end in sight since the outbreak of the pandemic in January last year.
While the negligence of many in the last few months resulted in the rise in the number of cases now, Reshma said it’s not the time to blame the government but “we ourselves for not wearing the mask properly and not maintaining social distancing”. In Delhi, a doctor died by suicide as he couldn’t bear the deaths of six-seven persons everyday in his ward. “Saving hundreds of lives doesn’t matter when one patient dies and you can’t do anything to save his life. That feeling of helplessness is traumatising,” said Dr Nizam. “Still, we give our best to treat everyone possible,” he said.
As Covid cases rise rapidly, the beds in both government and private hospitals are filling up fast in Kerala. The state’s health infrastructure is not yet swamped but things will change drastically if the number of cases rises sharply in the coming months. The complete lockdown announced by the government should help in reining in the spread of the disease, said a healthcare expert.
Some of the doctors said what affects their morale the most is the behaviour of the public. “As health workers, we are being assaulted by the very community we treat. And this is heart breaking,” said Dr Kala C Mohan, working at the ESIC Medical College at Bengaluru.
Several cases have been reported pan India on the number of attacks on healthcare professionals. “It’s demoralising,” said a doctor working at a government hospital in Kochi who wants to keep his anonymity.
“There have been incidents when doctors have been questioned and harassed for not saving lives of patients whose oxygen level was below 30,” said the doctor. Experts said the healthcare system is heavily overburdened. Beds, ventilators and oxygen cylinders are just tools that help us fight Covid. Healthcare workers are the soldiers who can fight this battle. In the coming days, the country will also be facing a shortage of healthcare professionals.