dailyO
Variety

Our non-Covid patients need care and treatment. Are we letting them down?

Advertisement
Dr Vikas Panwar
Dr Vikas PanwarApr 27, 2020 | 12:15

Our non-Covid patients need care and treatment. Are we letting them down?

Patients are dying of non-coronavirus related ailments because of delay in treatment, owing to the lockdown or fear of contracting the virus in the hospital.

The coronavirus disease (Covid-19) is a highly contagious and rapidly spreading pandemic that is teasing and testing our current healthcare system. Its unforeseeable damage to mankind is devastating. With the spread of the virus across continents, it is also spread the paranoia (of death) which in my mind seems exaggerated. Undoubtedly the virus is deadly, but in India, the rate so far has been below one per cent for whatever reason. But it has still crippled our healthcare system, by taking our complete focus in trying to stay afloat in this Covid storm.

Advertisement

main_indian-hospital_042720112253.jpg
While Covid-19 has taken our entire focus in treatment, we seem to have forgotten our non-Covid patients. (Representational photo: Reuters)

In this war-like situation, the disease is causing mass casualties and is rapidly depleting our resources including healthcare workforce. We as a country need to have an organised, competent workforce along with financial stability. The lockdown by our Prime Minister is a very good, thoughtful and precise decision in an attempt to curtail the spike of Covid-19. But by flattening the curve, we will inadvertently prolong it. The loss of financial inactivity for too long may also hurt us. As an emerging economy, we need to be strong enough to outlast the infection and not drain out our resources much before we are able to halt the disease by either developing a credible treatment or a vaccine.

While Covid-19 has taken our entire focus in treatment, we seem to have forgotten our non-Covid patients. There are people suffering and perhaps dying because of delay in treatment at some places. This may be a profound disservice that we are unknowingly doing to our non-Covid patients. We need to give due credit to other ailments and chronic diseases, where patients require diligent regular work-up, monitoring and treatment. In the current situation, it is those patients who are more vulnerable and are not being able to receive the aid they need. There are many patients in the need of regular dialysis, emergency and life-saving surgeries, cancer treatments, heart and lung ailments requiring constant follow-ups. They cannot reach their attending doctor either due to fear of contracting the virus from the visit to the hospital or due to the lockdown.

Advertisement

Somewhere in the chaos, we seem to have overlooked these patients. These patients will add to our non-Covid mortality.

The need of the hour is to have a multi-tiered system for all hospitals, segregating the Covid-19 from non-Covid patients. All suspected patients should be presumed Covid-positive, and be treated in isolation under high surveillance and aseptic precautions. Caregivers and healthcare workers need to take all precautions and be equipped with PPEs. Only positive patients, requiring intensive care, should be kept in the ICUs (isolated or negative-pressured).

The country’s healthcare needs the largest intensive care workforce to stay prepared, and all specialities need to learn and stay prepared to provide care if needed, in synchronised work cycles and teams.

In our vast country, the difference in various hospitals, in terms of infrastructure, and competencies in handling different situations, needs to be ameliorated by proper training and dissemination of correct information. The communications should be a linear chain reaction which may be fluid and possibly futuristic as the situation keeps evolving quickly. The hospitals need to reorient, and may need a complete makeover to deal with this situation. The non-Covid patient should be fast-tracked in the hospitals and provided with treatment that may help them have a short stay or ambulatory (day) care treatment options.

Advertisement

Primum non nocere (first, do no harm), said Hippocrates. Let us not deny our other patients proper care and treatment. The current times will teach us a lot. However, we need to learn fast from our mistakes, and also from others' mistakes so that we don’t repeat them.

Last updated: April 27, 2020 | 17:48
IN THIS STORY
Please log in
I agree with DailyO's privacy policy