Dr Aarti Kinikar, 56, is the head of the paediatric ward at Sassoon General Hospital. With Sassoon being a dedicated covid facility, she speaks to HT about how is she helping children in her ward to cope with Covid-19. Kinikar is also a professor at BJ Medical College.
What exactly is your role in this crisis?
I head the paediatric ward at Sassoon hospital where we have suspected cases. From the time we have moved to the new building, nine children have tested positive, the youngest being a four-month-old baby, who has recovered. Right now we have two positive cases in the ward. I have been with Sassoon hospital since 2000 and have also been a part of the services during the H1N1 pandemic, where I designed an indigenous ventilator for infants which is now patented. My work involves, seeing the patients and supervising 35 doctors working on a rotation basis.
How does your day begin and rolls out?
My day begins at 5.30am. I am also incharge of reporting as a nodal person for overseeing the covid activity in Sassoon. I have two resident doctors who first check every patient and gather information. They send it to another associate who combines it and sends the report to me. I read through the report and then this report is given to the dean, district collector and municipal authorities. At home, my husband and I maintain social distance by staying in two different rooms as he is also a paediatrician and we are both closely working with positive patients. My son is in Sweden studying.
In our ward, nine babies were born to covid positive mothers, including a pair of twins, and a preterm infant of 1.4 kg. The problem is that all the family members are in quarantine and no one is willing to come as caretakers, thus our doctors, nurses take care of the babies. We also have a human milk bank.
{{/usCountry}}In our ward, nine babies were born to covid positive mothers, including a pair of twins, and a preterm infant of 1.4 kg. The problem is that all the family members are in quarantine and no one is willing to come as caretakers, thus our doctors, nurses take care of the babies. We also have a human milk bank.
{{/usCountry}}What precautions are you taking?
I wear a mask at all times and PPE kit, goggles when coming in contact with a positive person. However, one must be happy at all times, eat well and drink a lot of water. I have to also keep everyone motivated at the ward.
What is your assessment of the covid crisis in Pune? How is it unfolding?
A lot of help has been pouring in from different organisations and collaborations with the civic department are helping too. The distribution of work between all departments including the police is commendable. Other hospital doctors especially intensivists, physicians and paediatric doctors are coming forward to help in the covid ward which is a big bonus.
What gaps do you see in health and relief work?
There is lack of awareness among public. Patients with co-morbidities must come forward early so as to be treated on time. All the hospitals in the city must start treating patients instead of referring everyone to Sassoon. There are hospitals identified for pregnant women, but are not yet functioning. Till now we have had 15 mothers in very short period and these could have been easily managed from wherever they were referred.