Yoga and indoor games keep patient morale high
NOIDA: For Greater Noida west resident Satish Kaul (65), playing carrom in the evening with his friends at the Covid care facility in Noida Stadium is one of the highlights of his day. Kaul is one of the 13 patients who are admitted at the temporary 50-bed facility launched May 8.
From starting their day with Yoga to ending it with games and TV, patients say they don’t miss home. The facility is run by 80 staff, including 23 doctors from Delhi-based NGO Doctors For You, who also hold motivational talks and counselling sessions for patients. “I play carrom, chess or ludo with the other patients, who have now become my friends. The staff also is very warm and we do not miss home as they feel like family,” said Kaul. He was admitted May 11.
He added that counselling has helped him. “Doctors keep everyone mentally strong and tell us of patients who recovered; that makes us feel that we can fight this virus too,” said Kaul.
The youngest patient is fiveyear-old Yashraj Mukherjee. “Everyone loves him and spends time with him on their rounds. He tested negative a few days back but since I and my husband are recovering, we have to stay longer as there is no one back home to take care of him,” said his mother Sanchari Joydeep Mukherjee, a resident of Sector 46 who was admitted on May 11.
The L1 facility has had 64 admissions. Currently it has 13. “Twelve were discharged after recovering while 17 left on their own as their condition stabilised. We had to refer about 13 to other hospitals,” said Dr Rohini Wadhawan, in-charge of the facility.
Unlike other illnesses, having Covid can make a patient feel lonely as they have to be insolation, says Dr Wadhawan. “We offer video calling for patients so they can speak to their families.
Though all of them have their phones, often older patients don’t know how to do this, so we arrange that,” she said.
They also update patients’ kin on their condition, they added. All 50 beds are equipped with oxygen. However, only patients with oxygen above 75-80 are admitted as it’s an L1 facility. “We try to keep a homely environment as patients panic when they find out they are positive. We hold motivational talks, physiotherapy sessions, yoga and indoor games so that patients stay busy. We tell them they can defeat the virus by not just being physically strong but mentally as well,” said Dr Rajat Jain, president, Doctors For You.