E-Paper
Coronavirus: A day in the life of doctors and nurses at Pune’s Naidu Hospital where precaution is the only cure
With Pune topping Covid-19 cases in the state (16), doctors at the civic-run hospital where patients are quarantined are under pressure to deal with the situation in the best possible way
The Covid-19 (coronavirus) outbreak in the city has kept the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC)-run Naidu Hospital staff on their toes over the past week. The doctors here are taking extra precaution, keeping in mind the ‘high risk’ situation, they are dealing with.
At the Naidu Hospital, there are a total of 70 employees, including 14 doctors and nursing staff, who are working round the clock, supervising the quarantined Covid-19 patients, said officials. For every doctor, precaution is paramount as it is the only option to stay safe from the infection.
Dr Ramchandra Hankare, head, PMC health department, said, “The medical and non-medical staff at Naidu Hospital is doing a commendable job. The hospital is well equipped to handle any crisis. I visit Naidu Hospital daily to supervise the situation on the ground. Our doctors are working 24x7. The 72 PMC-run hospitals, 125 doctors, staff from zilla parishad, PMC are equipped to tackle any emergency situation.”
According Dr Sudhir Patsute, superintendent, Naidu Hospital, the doctors are working in eight-hour shifts and everyone is aware of the high risk situation. The hospital has been divided into three zones for Covid-19 patients’ supervision.
“The staff at Naidu Hospital has dealt with high risk situations in the past and are continuing to take extra precaution, not only at the hospital, but also at their homes, where they come in contact with family members. Since Covid-19 is a community transferable disease, currently the patients at Naidu are limited to travellers. Hence, there are several people visiting the hospitals,” he said.
All patients at Naidu Hospital, according to Patsute, have to first visit the out patient department (OPD) where a registration counter has been set up. Two doctors are present at the registration desk, who gauge the seriousness and diagnose the severity of the patients’ illness. “Most patients who have a travel history of visiting other countries also come to the hospital out of fear, anxiety, but, they might not necessarily be Covid-19 positive. We do not want to mix the patients, hence after all the details are taken, the symptomatic people are admitted to the ward, while asymptomatic people are advised home isolation,” he added.
Next, the patients are taken to the three counters for examinations manned by two doctors each. Besides these counters, there is another counter where a physician from the Sassoon General Hospital is present. The physician is there for examination of special cases or if the patient needs to be transferred to Sassoon General Hospital, said Patsute.
According to Patsute, the in patient department (IPD) where the Covid-19 positive patients are admitted, there is a distance of at least 1.5-2 metres between their beds and all patients have to wear masks at all times. They are supervised by two doctors who work in two shifts-morning and evening. Medical professors and senior doctors from the BJ Medical College and Sassoon General Hospital also come for rounds. There is a separate doctor who supervises the sample collection near the wards, the hospital also has a reporting department that supervises daily reports of patients, along with a statistician and five data entry operators. There is also a helpline near the OPD, which has a doctor on call.
Patsute said, “Everyone at the hospital has been given Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) use and throw kits that is made of cotton material and disposable masks. These have been provided by the state government and partly by the PMC. Every disposed kit is packed separately after use and sent to a standard biomedical waste disposal plant.”
What keeps the doctors going strong?
The PMC is doing all it can to boost the morale of doctors who are working round the clock at Naidu Hospital.
Sanjeev Vavare, PMC health officer, said, “We are visiting the hospital daily and also take rounds of the quarantine ward. It is important to boost the morale of medical and non-medical staff. We meet them every morning and give them instructions regarding how they must take precautions as they are working in high-risk conditions.”
“Usually it is a trend that whenever the work load is high at civic hospitals, the employees request a transfer. While the whole city is in panic mode due to Covid-19 outbreak, and all patients are being admitted to the Naidu Hospital, I have not received a single request for transfer from the staff. This shows their dedication to service and social cause,” said Pune mayor Murlidhar Mohol.
Hemant Rasne, PMC standing committee chairman, said, “We are proud of the staff working at Naidu Hospital and other medical centres. The PMC staff has always risen to a situation, whether its Covid-19 or any other disease outbreak. Though it is a common perception that government employees have no work, residents must respect the work carried out by same employees during such crises.”