COVID-19: The Second Wave, a Tsunami - Part 3

Response on war footing:

We were at war for more than a year, and now it had reached unprecedented proportions. The gravity of the situation was soon understood by the military hierarchy and a war ops room like setting was created incorporating all the stake holders. All the non-clinical responsibilities were delegated to the administrative staff in the formation, allowing us to focus on our specialized task. Daily conference calls with the head of the formation ensured speedy rectification of issues at hand especially pertaining to oxygen crisis and manpower shortages.

For a change, the medical service had become the “Arms of war” and the infantrymen in the staff were deployed to play the supportive role.  I could see their enthusiasm as they seamlessly got involved in the hospital logistics and in the process, developed a newfound respect for their medical brethren, whom they saw fighting on the frontline, against this ruthless, invisible enemy.

Administrative tasks having been taken care of, the frontline healthcare workers in the hospital got down to their task, all hands on the deck. There were 5 physicians taking rounds of various wards twice a day, while a few manned the triage areas and the out-patient department. This ensured optimum workload distribution, and adequate time for the physicians to interact with the patients. Every ward was supplemented with medical officers from other departments, nursing staff and support staff who were present round the clock.

It was a unique experience for the non-medical specialists, who had never seen such severe cases of respiratory failure, organ system dysfunction and mortality in such high numbers. There respects for their colleagues in the specialty of Medicine and other critical care team had risen.

Turning point:

As the surge of cases rose exponentially through the month of April, the beginning of May showed a promising fall in number of cases as also the test positivity rates started to recede. As the numbers of admissions fell, with more recoveries, it was a heartening feeling to see happy patients going home, having seen many around them who were not so fortunate.  Over the next fortnight, number of critical cases reduced with fall in number of deaths. Wards which had been overflowing with patients till now and all ventilators being occupied, were showing signs of recovery. There were fewer telephonic calls from frantic relatives asking for availability of beds, and fewer emergency calls from the wards. Night sleep had become more peaceful and days less tiring.