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National Doctors’ Day: Delhi doctors say they are ready to face any situation
On the occasion of National Doctors’ Day on July 1, the Federation of Resident Doctors’ Association (FORDA) will felicitate all those who were infected in the line of duty on Wednesday.
From fearing a novel disease to learning how to work in full-body suits, doctors have kept working throughout the rise in the number of Covid-19 cases in the last four months. “In the last few months, we have become confident that no matter how difficult the situation, doctors will be ready to fight any war,” Dr Sunil Dhuchania, the president of the resident doctors’ association at Lady Hardinge Medical College, said.
On the occasion of National Doctors’ Day on July 1, the Federation of Resident Doctors’ Association (FORDA) will felicitate all those who were infected in the line of duty on Wednesday. National Doctors’ Day is celebrated on the birth anniversary of the legendary physician Dr BC Roy.
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“Now that many of our colleagues are recovering from the infection, the fear has definitely reduced. We know that if we take adequate precautions we can protect ourselves and even if we do get it, the infection is not all that bad—most people get mild symptoms,” Dr Duchania said.
It is, however, working while wearing personal protective equipment —coveralls, head cover, mask, gloves, goggles or face shield and shoe covers—that is troublesome. “There is no air circulation in the suits. There is so much sweating, people get dehydrated. We cannot drink too much water because we cannot go to the washroom. This is the most difficult part of working in Covid-19 areas,” he said.
Dr Amarinder Singh Malhi, the assistant professor of cardiac radiology at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), said, “Imagine wearing a personal protection equipment (PPE) suit for six to eight hours at a stretch in this hot and humid climate, without being able to eat and drink, or even use the washroom because it is a sterilised environment. This is what some of our colleagues have been doing routinely for months now.”
“And with the number of cases rising, it is becoming more exhausting. We have seen some people faint due to dehydration,” he added.
The challenge is no less for the doctors working in non-Covid areas. They are routinely exposed to the infection as well.
“Because we are a non-Covid hospital, we just put on a mask and see our patients in the OPDs and emergency wards. However, many of them are infected and even if we screen them, we cannot detect all the cases. Doctors in the so-called ‘low-risk’ areas are also routinely exposed to the infection. We are not even tested routinely, so we work in the blind, hoping that we have either had the infection or we do not get it,” Dr Maruti Sinha, a gynaecologist at North corporation-run Kasturba Gandhi Hospital and the secretary of the MCD Doctors’ Association, said.
