Patna: Data prepared by the Indian Medical Association shows Bihar lost highest numbers of doctors in the country during the second wave of COVID-19 pandemic from March 1, 2021 onwards. As per the figures, Bihar lost 80 medical professionals during the phase. However, an unofficial updated data sheet, prepared by the medical fraternity and made available to globalbihari.com shows at least 94 doctors falling prey to COVID-19 in the second wave of the pandemic in Bihar. Many in the medical fraternity say lives of quite a few of these doctors could have been saved if they had got proper medical attention on time.
A group of eminent doctors including renowned eye specialist Dr. Shivendra Sahay, who himself recovered from COVID-19 and is convalescing, Dr. Amitabh Sinha, and Dr. Nirmala who we spoke to, were of the view that there should be a dedicated COVID hospital or ward with all facilities exclusively for doctors in different health facilities in the State.
Many doctors, working in the peripheral areas, rued the absence of medical attention in time. Many lack facilities for investigations like RT-PCT, HRCT, Lung and so on. Very few hospitals, that too in district headquarters and Patna, have facilities of Ventilator or Bi pap.
As such, these peripheral areas already lacked good hospitals and adequate doctors who could handle COVID patients. Even the basic facilities such as RTPCR tests were not available on time. “Doctors on duty are not getting leave on time till it becomes too late. So by the time they decide to come to Patna or any major town, their saturation level has dipped,” said a doctor. Besides, non availability of beds when these suffering doctors reach such hospitals too is proving fatal for the medical professionals.
“Many doctors died because they didn’t get proper attention in periphery. Because of ever increasing workload, they often neglected their own health condition. Only when their saturation dipped, they came to Patna where there was no bed available in any hospital even for the doctors,” said a doctor. A major reason was also that no RT-PCR test was available on time which meant that even if a bed was available in All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Patna or any other good hospital, the ailing doctor could not get admission there. The ailing doctors had no option but to get admitted to places where there were no ventilator, Bi pap, CT scanning equipment etc were available.
Besides, there were instances, as a doctor pointed out, where the RT-PCR reports were “not correct”.
“Today doctors are exposed to higher viral load too. Doctors who are suspected to have contracted COVID-19 should also be admitted in Hospitals like AIIMS,” Dr. Shivendra Sahay said.
“Making of a doctor requires decades of life . Most of the Doctors got covid from the patients only and if a doctor survives he or she could serve the ailing mankind and also to the patients of Covid . The least any state government can do is to provide a dedicated Hospital or Ward for Doctors who are having covid,” Dr. Nirmala said.
– global bihari bureau
