It has been about two years since Akanksha Tripathi has been working as a nurse but this is for the first time that she feels she is in troubled waters, as she deals with suspected and confirmed Sars-Cov-2 cases at the isolation ward of Ghaziabad’s MMG District Hospital.
The 25-year-old, a Delhi resident, has now base shifted to the MMG Hospital complex, staying away from her parents who are staying put in the national Capital. She says that life has changed a lot in the past couple of weeks, ever since coronavirus cases started coming to the hospital.
“Each one of us has to wear a personal protection kit for about two-three hours and we have to remember every precaution at every second of our time spent at the isolation ward. When we go to the isolation wards, we leave our mobile phones in our rooms so that no contamination travels to the ward. A single mistake could jeopardise the life of patients as well as medical staff. I shifted base to the hospital as coming and going back to my home in Delhi was difficult due to the nationwide lockdown,” Tripathi added.
“Like our patients, I feel that I am also living in isolation. I am avoiding any social interactions. My parents call me up only at fix timings as they know I will not be available at most times,” she added.
{{/usCountry}}“Like our patients, I feel that I am also living in isolation. I am avoiding any social interactions. My parents call me up only at fix timings as they know I will not be available at most times,” she added.
{{/usCountry}}Each one of the nurses and doctors at the MMG Hospital is pitching in additional hours – their duty generally begins from 8am and can go up to 9pm. Some of the doctors HT spoke to said that each one of them is in a state of self isolation ever since the coronavirus isolation ward at the hospital started receiving patients.
“It is as if I’m washing my hands hundreds of times. Every day now my mind gets these signals to wash hands whenever I touch any items in the hospital or at home. Even after touching a file in the office, I straightaway go to a washbasin for a hand wash. As soon as I enter my house, I take a bath and then wash all my clothes myself. My daughters, aged 15 and 13, try to come to me but they are not allowed. Sometimes I have to be harsh and tell them to stay away. I sleep in a different room than my family in my house and have even restricted my movements in the house,” said a doctor, requesting anonymity.
“I have told my wife not to go near my car even, as I use it often and she could catch the infection. The coronavirus is a hidden enemy whose cure we do not know as of now. The earlier infectious diseases such as the Swine Flu, etc., were less critical. But Covid-19 disease is a challenge for us and we will deal with it sooner or later,” the doctor added.
The isolation ward at the MMG Hospital is 10-bedded facility set up at two locations. One is kept reserved for suspected coronavirus cases while other is for confirmed cases.
“So far, we have handled 38 cases, which include suspected as well as confirmed patients. Two positive patients are still lodged here. After hearing about the fatality rate of Covid-19 disease, some patients try to run away and we have to calm them down. Sometimes they keep standing at the doors, looking outside. Their family members come at specific timings to see them, but we have to take extra precautions at the isolation ward,” said Heena Victor, the sister-in-charge at the hospital.
She says in all of her 20 years of service as a nurse, she has not witnessed such heightened levels of precautions and measures being taken for any disease.
“Once I go home, I go for self isolation. These days, I eat my food alone and not together with my family like always. Apart from precautions for my patients I have to be extra alert for other nurses who stay inside the isolation ward. Every doctor and nurse is putting in prolonged hours to keep the isolation ward running. Also, it has also been about one month since the first patient was admitted to the ward and we have asked the hospital authorities to get all of us tested,” she said.
“Every day we hear and read about the death toll across the globe, but all of us are of the opinion that each of our patients will recover. We have to stay positive to defeat the coronavirus,” Victor added.
The hospital’s chief medical superintendent, Dr Ravindra Rana, is also appreciative of the doctors and nurses working at the isolation ward. He said that a combined strength of about 12 staff members is deputed for isolation ward duties.
“All of them are putting in long hours to get patients treated and we are also looking at every precaution so that our staff stays safe as well. They have been given protection kits and other necessary items. We will get the staff members and officers also tested in the coming days,” he added.