Pune: Medical fraternity feels let down in fight against Covid-19

PUNE: Medical experts are increasingly feeling let down by the “lack of government support” towards their efforts in the time of Covid-19 pandemic with the ongoing unrest over scant resources almost reaching a boiling point in the city.
“Instances of patients’ relatives attacking our doctors and nurses and ransacking hospital premises are on the rise owing to the shortage of oxygen, essential drugs and human resource. Hospitals have been left alone to fight on all these fronts. No help is coming from anyone,” said Bomi Bhote, chief executive officer of Ruby Hall Clinic and president of Association of Hospitals, an umbrella body of big hospitals in Pune.
“Dealing with a large number of patients is certainly a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Besides, there is a potential risk of getting infected while providing care. At the same time, there’s the burden of telephonic communications with home quarantined patients and relatives of people hospitalized. All these factors take a toll on doctors and the support staff. Society in general needs to understand this and stand by them,” said infectious diseases expert Sanay Pujari who is also a member of the national task force.
Sanjeev Wavare, nodal officer (Covid-19) of the Pune Municipal Corporation, said, “We help private hospitals in arranging oxygen cylinders through our buffer stock or with drugs such as remdesivir and tocilizumab. But all these resources are in short supply. There is no denying that their distressed calls are on the rise.”
Sanjay Patil, chairman of the Indian Medical Association's Hospital Board of India, Pune chapter, said, “The healthcare system is doing everything possible with the avaiable resources. The local administration is enforcing regulations set by the state and Centre without even considering the situation on the ground.”
He said, “The local health department is overburdened and has become over-dependent on the administration. At the state level, the task force and top officials are changing guidelines almost every day according to the medicines and oxygen availability. Ensuring enough supplies of vaccines, medicines and oxygen is the state government and district administration’s responsibility.”
Physician Aniket Joshi has been dispensing duties at Covid patients’ ICUs ever since the pandemic broke out in March last year. “I have worked in government, charitable and private sectors. I have never felt so helpless as now,” he said.
Joshi, who is also president of the Association of Physicians of India’s Pune chapter, “I helplessly watch people suffering in Pune. The city should have got major attention in terms of support systems. Unfortunately, we haven’t got that attention in terms of the necessary resources. I sincerely request the government to restore the supply and help us serve the Covid-19 patients.”