Expert teams to supervise Delhi’s Covid hospitals
nNEW DELHI: The health department of Delhi has notified three expert teams comprising four members each, to inspect, supervise and issue necessary directions to ensure better patient care at Covid-19 hospitals in the Capital and prepare weekly reports to be submitted to both the Centre and Delhi government starting next Tuesday.
The teams comprise senior doctors from the All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS), Delhi government, central government, the New Delhi Municipal Council and the South Delhi Municipal Corporation, the order, which HT has seen, read.
The three teams have been collectively given charge of 30 government and private hospitals—all of them are Covid-dedicated facilities.
Jugal Kishore, the head of the community medicines department of Safdarjung Hospital, appreciated the initiative. He said, “It is a welcome move. But one must ensure that the committees focus on constructive input to facilitate better patient care services without interfering with the day-to-day functions of the hospitals during surprise inspections.”
nNEW DELHI 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.
“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
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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.
“Doctors in the so-called ‘lowrisk’ areas are also routinely exposed to the infection. 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 Kasturba Gandhi Hospital, said.