There is a saying, “Doctors are like gods to the patients.” I, as a doctor, always try to live by these words as many lives depend on us on various occasions.
Honestly speaking, we have never seen such a disease like Covid-19. When it started, the doctors were totally clueless and scared. Initially we, in the Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan (LNJP) Hospital, tried imparting training and briefing to all our staff members on how to fight this highly contagious disease. Right from the beginning we were anticipating that many patients would be affected.
Initially, we were getting Covid-positive cases of only those who had a history of international travel. We would receive patients only from the airport or the Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) Hospital. But, later, as the number of patients increased, we started converting our normal wards into Covid-19 treatment wards.
It was not easy for us as we had to follow the infection control policy. This required changes in the existing setup which was never designed to tackle such a huge load of patients. Hence, the Delhi government took a bold decision to convert the LNJP Hospital into a dedicated Covid-19 treatment hospital. But it was not an easy task either.
All the doctors, nurses and paramedics, like any other person, had so much fear of this virus that nobody wanted to enter the wards or interact with patients. This required a change in mindset, and in order to do so, training and counselling sessions of the entire hospital staff, right from top to bottom, were held. This had an immediate positive impact, helping them to be less fearful.
The Emergency Department of the LNJP Hospital was the first and the last centre which dealt with the patients coming/referred to the hospital. The entire staff of the Emergency Department of the LNJP Hospital took the task head on.
Despite limited doctors and staff, the Emergency Department tried to look after both Covid and non-Covid patients. But later, with some modifications in the setup, Covid-19 emergency was organised with a different setup. The Emergency Department had to face various challenges which include shifting in and out of Markaz and non-Markaz patients from quarantine centres to the hospital. The biggest challenge was to receive and send them with proper documentation and data management.
Another big problem was the change of medical directors and higher administrators frequently. It was not very easy to cope up with the stress of frequently changing policies about patient management and to follow them without any error.
In this journey of treating Covid-19 patients, which actually started on 17 March 2020 when the Emergency Department of the LNJP Hospital received the first case, it had to face several hardships and criticisms. Many inquiries and harassments were faced by us, but luckily we came out unblemished every time. Various problems were faced in view of infrastructure and manpower, but we kept working tirelessly. Many complaints and many solutions we faced and found, but we never stopped.
I, myself, have forgotten what a good night sleep is. I do not remember when for the last time I had slept the entire night. My phone has been ringing 24×7 since 17 March 2020. I have not been able to look after my family as I should have. But these are the sacrifices which I have no regret in making for the larger welfare of patients, for whom we are the only hope.
We doctors will keep working at this pace knowing well that the worst phase of this pandemic is yet to come and we have to handle it with our limited resources. But we won’t rest till all of us successfully get out of this Covid-19 war.
The writer is DMS and Head, Department of Accident and Emergency, and Coordinator Covid, Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan (LNJP) Hospital.