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‘Isolated from society’: These medics are committed to winning war against invisible enemy
35-year-old Suman, a nurse deployed at one of the hospital’s isolation wards, says she had never been in such a situation in her 12 years of service.
All front-line health workers at Kurukshetra’s Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Hospital, be it doctors, nurses or sanitation ward boys, are engaged in a battle to defeat a common enemy — Covid-19.
35-year-old Suman, a nurse deployed at one of the hospital’s isolation wards, says she had never been in such a situation in her 12 years of service.
Mother of three young girls, youngest of whom is just 18 months old, Suman says her eldest daughter looks after her sisters when she is at work. Her husband, too, is a health worker.
“All of us are going through the toughest phases of our lives, where we have to fulfil many responsibilities and play multiple roles. We have a fixed time to reach hospital, but when would we return solely depends on the patient load in the isolation ward,” she says.
“I cannot go near my children. I have been keeping distance from them in order keep at bay the slightest possibility of infecting them,” she adds.
“But, we are confident that this too shall pass. We would win this battle,” Suman says
Similar is the story of another senior staff nurse, Meenu Purthi. “The most difficult thing is to stay away from children. After going back to our homes, we have to spend two extra hours washing our clothes, bathing and sanitising our kits,” she says.
“Covid-19 has not only brought isolation to patients, but even to us,” Meenu adds.
Dr Arvind Chahal, who is also posted in the isolation ward, says, “This pandemic has changed the way we used to live our lives.”
“Our responsibilities have increased as a small mistake could create a big problem for patients, staff and their family members,” says the doctor who has started living in a separate room on his residence’s ground floor after shifting his family to the first floor.
Doctors examining patients in the OPDs are also exposed to similar risks. “My working hours have increased. Nowadays, I examine around 200 patients. But, we are committed to doing our duty and serving the people,” says Dr Shailendra Mamgain, senior medical officer and TB specialist.
