E-Paper
Doctors’ Day: Those on the frontline recount horror of war they waged against Covid
It has been nearly 16 months since the medical professionals are at war with Covid and many of them feel that the virus has taught them some of the important lessons of their lives
As the nation celebrates Doctor’s Day, medical professionals who turned out to be guardian angels in the time of Covid pandemic share their experiences of how they fought the invisible enemy.
It has been nearly 16 months since the medical professionals are waging a continuous war with Covid. Many of them feel that the virus has taught them some of the important lessons of their lives.
Dr Rajesh Mahajan, professor of medicine, Emergency in-charge and nodal officer for Covid at DMCH, who had attended and treated the first case of coronavirus in Ludhiana on March 20, 2020, said, “The worst time was when I and principal of the institute Dr Sandeep Puri got ourselves isolated after coming in contact with the first patient at DMCH. Everyone was scared of interacting with us. And till then, little headway was made in the field of treatment of the disease. Those were anxious times but as the time progressed, we learned more about the virus and managed to save many precious lives.”
Senior cardiologist at DMC Heart Institute Dr Bishav Mohan, who is also a member of the Covid task force of Punjab, said, “Initially we took Covid as a challenge as patients were increasing and treatment was limited. But with time, we took it as a mission to serve people. It was difficult. When people were scared to come near a Covid patient, we were up against an invisible enemy. It was agonising to see some of our known and loved ones losing the battle.”
Dr Amanpreet Kaur Brar, MD (medicine) at the civil hospital is among the first batch of doctors to treated Covid patients. She did not let her average salary and the hospital’s acute staff crunch become a deterrent. She said, “It was a real challenge to serve in the government sector during a pandemic. I can easily relate our work, our fears, and our courage to win the fight against Covid with a fireman dousing flames or a soldier in the battlefield. With the support of family and excellent teamwork shown by paramedics, we came out as winners by treating about 3,000 moderate to severe patients in Ludhiana civil hospital.”
Dr Baldeep Singh, MD, of Deep Hospital in Ludhiana, said, “The pandemic has been a challenging phase for the entire medical fraternity. Initially, there was not enough data on treatment protocols and it was a continuously evolving process. Drug shortage was consistent throughout.”
Dr Rajiv Kundra, medical superintendent at SPS Hospital, said, “I have been working in the healthcare sector for around 20 years, but had never witnessed such enormous pressure. From keeping distance from my near and dear ones to spending countless nights alone in my room, I saw and managed it all.”
