Despite resource crunch, this Chikkamagaluru doctor keeps on going

CHIKKAMAGALURU: A physician at Chikkamagaluru’s district Mallegowda General Hospital has supervised the treatment of over 6,000 people who contracted Covid-19, and toils on, despite the toll it has taken on his own mental health.

During the first wave of Covid-19 infections, Dr Chandrashekar oversaw the treatment of over 4,000 people who turned up at the district hospital after testing positive for the disease. Assisted by another doctor and other medical staff at the 140-bed hospital, Dr Chandreshekar handled the bulk of the supervisory work.

Despite his experience with the disease last year, the ferocity of the second wave was much harder to deal with. The hospital has treated 1,500 patients since April. “Initially, I was ok. But I began to get disturbed on seeing the rush of patients in the ICU,” he says. Admitting that there is both a staff and resource crunch in government hospitals, Dr Chandrashekar says it was a challenge to arrange for beds with oxygen. “It was hard to see patients aged under 40 queue up for ventilators that were already in use,” he says.

Despite these circumstances, Dr Chandrashekar did his best to treat patients and also help with their mental well-being. But to ensure this, he knew he had to look after his own emotional and physical well-being. He sets aside 90 minutes each day for a mix of aerobics, yoga and weight training to keep his mind and body sharp.

District Surgeon Dr Mohan Kumar says Dr Chandrashekhar’s work is commendable. Physicians and staff nurses in the hospital are at the service of patients in spite of the constraints of human resources. “As the head of the hospital, I am thankful to all doctors and nursing staff. The situation as of now is well under control,” he says. As for Dr Chandrashekar, his only advice to people is to follow all precautionary measures.