Everytime we talk about our frontline Coronavirus warriors, we should highlight the sacrifice and work done by the nurses, whose work sometimes goes unnoticed.
From dusk to dawn, these nurses are working beyond their regular shifts to take care of the ailing coronavirus patients and helping doctors in carrying out their jobs effectively and efficiently.
Despite taking all the necessary precautions, many are falling prey to the vicious virus, a few having succumbed to it. They know the risks but also understand the criticality of the situation. While we complain about staying locked up in our homes, many of these nurses haven’t seen their families for days. They are exhausted but not giving up.
Today on International Nurses Day, we spoke exclusively to 45-year-old Sunita D’Souza who is the Head-Nursing at Reliance Hospital, Navi Mumbai to understand the situation better…
Coronavirus did not give enough time to the frontline workers to prepare for the surge and hospitals had to overnight turn into coronavirus fighting zones.
Sunita shares her experience. “We nurses went through a lot of literature before coming on board. One good thing about the hospital where I work is the infrastructure. COVID and Non-COVID wards could be segregated thus easing off the hassle.
We did face some man power shortage but we are trying to engineer our schedules. The team had rigorous training from various experts at the hospital.
We attend training sessions while we are on duty, it is time consuming but it is necessary as part of our duty. In case there are any specific doubts/query that I or any other nurse have, we can reach out to the doctors and receive guidance.
Honestly, it is a bit challenging as the protocols are defined and redefined according to the changing scenario in the country so there is a lot of learning and unlearning involved on a day to day basis.”
Narrating one of the incidents that really hit her emotionally was when a one year old child had to be separated from his family because the entire family had tested COVID positive, except him. “It shook me and my eyes welled with tears as I had to hand over the child to the extended family of the patient. Both the parents were sobbing bitterly and the child wouldn’t leave them. This was a very difficult situation to deal with and for a couple of days I was very low.”
“There are COVID patients including children admitted to the hospital and they always want to talk to us nurses, also adult patients want to talk about their family and personal life seeking that emotional connection. These conversations play on my mind even after duty hours, I try to disconnect from these thoughts to ensure that my mental health is good so that I can serve them better.” Savita starts her day at around 8:00 am in the morning and signs off by 9:30 pm. Post which, she goes home but mostly on calls with other nurses till 2:00 am, guiding them in case they have any questions and need her help. “Whatever time I get, I ensure to eat well and have a sound sleep whenever I can.”
Savita credits her family for being her support system. “I am married and have two boys. My mother takes care of my children, my sister cooks food for me and ensures I eat and the husband picks me up and drops me at the hospital. They are proud of the work I do and this motivates me to stay strong during this fight.”
Savita shares how patients and their families seek support and assurance. “There were a couple of instances where the relatives of the patients created commotion, but when the staff and I explained them the challenges, they did cooperate. It was assurance that every patient and the relative was seeking and as a nurse I was able to empathize with them which really helped.”
“The moment we enter the hospital, we consider the patients at the hospital as our own. We consider it our prime duty to assist them in their times of need.”
“I am not leaving until this is over,” she says before signing off.
