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On the frontline: This virus strain appears to be mild in nature, says Dr Arvind Parmar, RMO, Naidu hospital
Dr Arvind Parmar, Resident Medical Officer, Dr Naidu Infectious Diseases Hospital
Dr Arvind Parmar, Resident Medical Officer, Dr Naidu Infectious Diseases Hospital
With a career spanning 28 years, Dr Arvind Parmar is among the team of doctors who is taking care of Covid-19 positive patients at the institutional quarantine facility at Pune Municipal Corporation’s (PMC) Dr Naidu Infectious Diseases Hospital. Here’s what he had to say about his work.
What exactly is your role in this crisis?
Along with other medical officers, my primary role is to examine the patients who come from different parts of the city, ask them their symptoms and look for any important symptoms, examine their vitals and take X-rays of the chest. If the patient is asymptomatic, then he or she is advised to stay home and be quarantined. If the patient is in direct contact with a positive patient or staying in a hotspot area or has a foreign travel history and is symptomatic, then we admit the patient and go for nasal and pharyngeal swab.
Our other role is going to the wards and taking rounds of the wards where the patients have been admitted. Thus, we have the dual role of examining patients in the OPD (out patients department) and taking rounds of the wards.
How does your day begin and roll out?
I wake up at 6 am and carry out my regular exercise for about an hour, take hot water bath and eat light breakfast and reach the hospital for duty. At 1 pm, I have my lunch which is provided by the hospital and before leaving the hospital in the evening, I sanitize myself with a spray which has been prepared by the hospital. On reaching home, I directly go to the bathroom to take hot water bath and after that take rest. The clothes I wear are put in hot water as the virus does not survive at 30 degrees Celsius.
What precautions are you taking?
I start my day with my mask on my face. After reaching the hospital, I am provided with head-cap, gloves, apron and goggles when I am in the OPD and taking the round in the patient wards. Now and then, we clean our hands with sanitisers. I see to it that the patient is seated at a distance of one metre from me and have masks on their face. I also ensure that they don’t touch the case papers, tables, chair. After examining each of the patients, we sanitise our hands. We see to it that we don’t touch our eyes, face, nose and ears so to avoid getting infected. We take the highest precautions and observe all the safety guidelines while dealing with the patients.
What is your assessment of the Covid-19 crisis in Pune? How is it unfolding?
My assessment as far as Naidu Hospital is concerned is that the virus strain is mild in nature and if precautions like social distancing and staying at home is taken, then we can overcome this crisis. Clusters where infections are rampant have been identified and concentrated effort must be taken in those clusters. We must ensure that each and every person belonging such clusters is sanitised. In line with what Prime Minister Narendra Modi who has appealed to the countrymen to stay indoors, we should all stay inside our houses to overcome the Covid-19 COVID crisis.
What gaps do you see in healthcare and relief work?
No such gaps, but the police department has to be alert because we see soon many people coming out and secondly, most importantly, a team of psychiatrists should be formed to take on the after-effects of Covid-19.
