Mental health issues another challenge overworked healthcare workers face in India
Skip to main content
  • Home
  • Economy
  • Stocks
  • Analysis
  • World+Biz
  • Sports
  • Splash
  • Features
  • Videos
  • Long Read
  • Games
  • Epaper
  • More
    • COVID-19
    • Bangladesh
    • Infograph
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Thoughts
    • Podcast
    • Quiz
    • Tech
    • Subscribe
    • Archive
    • Trial By Trivia
    • Magazine
    • Supplement
  • বাংলা
The Business Standard
THURSDAY, MAY 19, 2022
THURSDAY, MAY 19, 2022
  • Home
  • Economy
  • Stocks
  • Analysis
  • World+Biz
  • Sports
  • Splash
  • Features
  • Videos
  • Long Read
  • Games
  • Epaper
  • More
    • COVID-19
    • Bangladesh
    • Infograph
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Thoughts
    • Podcast
    • Quiz
    • Tech
    • Subscribe
    • Archive
    • Trial By Trivia
    • Magazine
    • Supplement
  • বাংলা
Mental health issues another challenge overworked healthcare workers face in India

Coronavirus chronicle

Hindustan Times
05 May, 2021, 03:00 pm
Last modified: 05 May, 2021, 07:43 pm

Related News

  • India's power grid creaks under hybrid work model, heatwave
  • JPMorgan downgrades India's IT sector as Covid boom fades
  • India retains top spot as fastest-growing economy: UN
  • Sundarban tigers travelling to West Bengal in search of mates
  • US to offer India $500 mn in military aid to reduce Russia dependence: Report

Mental health issues another challenge overworked healthcare workers face in India

PPEs have added to the woes of health care workers as the mercury continues to rise over the 40-degree C mark at many places in the country

Hindustan Times
05 May, 2021, 03:00 pm
Last modified: 05 May, 2021, 07:43 pm
A patient wearing an oxygen mask is wheeled inside a COVID-19 hospital for treatment, amidst the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Ahmedabad, India, April 26, 2021. REUTERS/Amit Dave
A patient wearing an oxygen mask is wheeled inside a COVID-19 hospital for treatment, amidst the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Ahmedabad, India, April 26, 2021. REUTERS/Amit Dave

Gauri Gupta has been working for 14 hours daily at the emergency ward of a hospital in Dehradun as the surge in Covid-19 cases continues to increase the workload of doctors like her across the country. Apart from her struggles of being constantly in personal protection equipment kit (PPE), Gupta has helplessly seen patients dying that left her traumatised.

"...a few weeks ago, a 22-year-old man was admitted as an emergency case. His oxygen levels were drastically dropping...as doctors, we always need to feel hopeful and give hope to the patient's family. Deep down, I knew that he could not be saved but we never gave up. We provided him with all the essentials, yet could not save him," said Gupta. "When I had to break the news, I was shaking and had to mentally prepare myself to talk to his mother, who was very hopeful. I broke down as I told his mother and locked myself up in my chamber..." Gupta said she felt helpless over her failure.

PPEs have added to the woes of health care workers as the mercury continues to rise over the 40-degree C mark at many places in the country. "The PPE kit is extremely warm due to which I have had breakouts around my nose and mouth. ...the first time I had my period in a PPE kit...I could feel blood seeping through my PPE kit, as we usually have one kit assigned for one doctor a day..."

Gupta said she felt extremely distracted, conscious, and uneasy. "I could smell the stinky blood and could feel it sticking against my legs because of the sweat. After my 14-hour long shift, I ran home, feeling miserable..."

Damini Grover, a counseling psychologist, said consequences of such traumatic experiences are real. She added they can lead to long term issues like hyperactivity, post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, emotional imbalance, frequent panic attacks or depression. Grover said most doctors might always work with the feeling of guilt and doubt as the second wave of the pandemic has gone out of hand. She added considering doctors as humans is extremely important as they are witnessing so many deaths everyday. "The prolonged impact of the trauma the doctors are facing right now will deeply impact their personality and their personal lives," said Grover.

Subin Varghese, ICU supervisor at Delhi’s Max hospital. (Sourced)
Subin Varghese, ICU supervisor at Delhi’s Max hospital. (Sourced)

Subin Varghese, the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) supervisor at New Delhi's Max Smart Super Speciality Hospital, said at the beginning of this year, the control in the rise of the infections made people careless. "I saw people not wearing masks or wearing them incorrectly, and similarly both the central and the state government did not plan..."

Varghese said it is distressing to see patients die due to the lack of oxygen cylinders or ICU beds. "There are times you know that if I had an oxygen cylinder or a bed, I would have been able to save the patient, and that makes me feel hopeless... When you have six patients and one of them suddenly shows extreme symptoms, you put in all the resources available to save that life, but when that patient dies, what do you do?" Varghese said as healthcare workers, they do not have the time to mourn a patient's death. "It is because you have five more patients to look after. I focus all my energy to save those five. My workplace has been very supportive by giving extra compensation for each shift to every worker but the misery of deaths and suffering I have been seeing for over a year now has made me numb..."

Varghese said there are days when he is unable to sleep thinking about the people who could not be saved.

Nikita Dhawan, who started her internship in April 2020 and has since been working in Covid wards in Dehradun, said seeing people die helplessly was very difficult to cope with. She has often suffered anxiety and even thought of giving up.

Dr Nikita Dhawan. (Photo: Sourced)
Dr Nikita Dhawan. (Photo: Sourced)

"...there were days when we had to lock the hospital gates from inside as there was no capacity left to accommodate people. I could see people outside the gate, holding onto the hope that their loved one could be saved, and at that point, I used to feel hollow. I felt guilty for not being able to help," said Dhawan. "But when you are on duty, you need to be numb. I have felt the loss of every patient, particularly a 15-year-old boy...I was in shock and felt a void. I could not stop crying while preparing his death certificate the next day. It was traumatising."

Shishupal Singh, the nursing in charge at Gurugram's Fortis Memorial Research Institute, said they have to be positive and continuously motivate the patients. "There are times when the patients get emotional and miss their families [and we arrange] video calls... It is definitely tough to see the patients go through so much pain. But when I brief my team in the morning, I always make it a point to mention how the soldiers of our country are protecting us from the outer threat. Similarly, we have to protect our country from this virus."

Singh said there are times when his staff feels demotivated or anxious. "During such times, we stand as a team. We video call others, try to crack jokes, and play online games like Ludo to keep ourselves relaxed and positive."

Top News / World+Biz

Coronavirus in India / India / overworked / healthcare workers / mental health

Comments

While most comments will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive, moderation decisions are subjective. Published comments are readers’ own views and The Business Standard does not endorse any of the readers’ comments.

Top Stories

  • Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal, Photo: TBS
    Annual foreign debts can be paid with two months’ remittance: Finance minister
  • Falling trade barriers and hyper-efficient logistics produced an age of abundance for many. But the last four years have brought an escalating series of disruptions.Source: Bloomberg
    Age of scarcity begins with $1.6 trillion hit to world economy
  • Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan holds a news conference during the NATO summit at the Alliance's headquarters in Brussels, Belgium on 14 June  2021. Photo: Reuters
    Turkey has told allies it's a 'no' to Sweden and Finland's NATO bid - Erdogan

MOST VIEWED

  • Medical staff members check the temperature of people as they enter at Capital Airport, following an outbreak of Covid-19, in Beijing, China, 5 November, 2020. Photo: Reuters
    China relaxes some Covid test rules for US, other travellers
  • Representational image.
    China Junshi's potential Covid drug shows promise in small trial
  • A woman wearing protective mask walks at a sidewalk near business district in Jakarta, Indonesia March 2, 2020. REUTERS/Willy Kurniawan/Files
    Indonesia to drop outdoor mask mandate as Covid-19 infections drop
  • North Korean leader Kim Jong Un presides over a politburo meeting of the ruling Workers' Party, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, May 17, 2022, in this photo released May 18, 2022 by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). KCNA via REUTERS
    N Korean leader slams officials' 'immaturity' in response to Covid outbreak
  • North Korea Covid outbreak is 'worrying' for new variants -WHO
    North Korea Covid outbreak is 'worrying' for new variants -WHO
  • People watch a TV broadcasting a news report on the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) outbreak in North Korea, at a railway station in Seoul, South Korea on 17 May 2022. Photo: Reuters.
    N Korea Covid outbreak could have 'devastating' impact on human rights, UN says

Related News

  • India's power grid creaks under hybrid work model, heatwave
  • JPMorgan downgrades India's IT sector as Covid boom fades
  • India retains top spot as fastest-growing economy: UN
  • Sundarban tigers travelling to West Bengal in search of mates
  • US to offer India $500 mn in military aid to reduce Russia dependence: Report

Features

Sketch: TBS

'Food inflation is an unavoidable consequence of currency devaluation'

11h | Interviews
The open-browser-tabs question also tells an interviewer how much of an internet native the job applicant might be. Photo: Noor-a-Alam

The best question to ask a job applicant

11h | Pursuit
Illustration: TBS

Ugly business: Politics in workplace

10h | Pursuit
Illustration: TBS

‘Do you have insurance?’: Life of a life insurance agent

13h | Panorama

More Videos from TBS

Putin's strategies to face Nato

Putin's strategies to face Nato

9m | Videos
How many countries have nuclear weapons and how many are there?

How many countries have nuclear weapons and how many are there?

24m | Videos
Dengue fever is rising, so beware

Dengue fever is rising, so beware

34m | Videos
How a university teacher and PHD holder become farmer

How a university teacher and PHD holder become farmer

4h | Videos

Most Read

1
Representative Photo: Pixabay.
Bangladesh

Microplastics found in 5 local sugar brands

2
Mushfiq Mobarak. Photo: Noor-A-Alam
Panorama

Meet the Yale professor who anchors his research in Bangladesh and scales up interventions globally

3
The story of Bangladesh becoming a major bicycle exporter
Industry

The story of Bangladesh becoming a major bicycle exporter

4
How Bangladesh can achieve edible oil self-sufficiency with local alternatives
Bazaar

How Bangladesh can achieve edible oil self-sufficiency with local alternatives

5
Govt tightens belt to relieve reserve
Economy

Govt tightens belt to relieve reserve

6
PK Halder: How a scamster rose from humble beginnings to a Tk11,000cr empire
Crime

PK Halder: How a scamster rose from humble beginnings to a Tk11,000cr empire

The Business Standard
Top
  • Home
  • Entertainment
  • Sports
  • About Us
  • Bangladesh
  • International
  • Privacy Policy
  • Comment Policy
  • Contact Us
  • Economy
  • Sitemap
  • RSS

Contact Us

The Business Standard

Main Office -4/A, Eskaton Garden, Dhaka- 1000

Phone: +8801847 416158 - 59

Send Opinion articles to - oped.tbs@gmail.com

For advertisement- sales@tbsnews.net

Copyright © 2022 THE BUSINESS STANDARD All rights reserved. Technical Partner: RSI Lab