“We perform our normal duties, like writing a report and interacting with patients, but everything is from within layers of protective gear for six straight hours… It cannot be explained without experiencing it,” Sheena, a nurse on COVID-19 duty, told actor Mammootty.
Sheena, a staff nurse at the Infection Control section of the Kozhikode Medical College, was on a phone conversation with Mammootty as part of a radio show. On the actor’s enquiry, Sheena patiently explained the daily ordeals of a nurse and other members in a COVID-19 ward.
“We get about 20 suspected cases almost every day. Only after testing can we conclude if they are positive. But we treat them with utmost precaution, anticipating that they might have the infection,” she said.
At the end of the conversation, which lasted for almost 20 minutes, Mammootty said, “I could only listen as a layman. But, the public should know the struggles of saving the life of a person infected with coronavirus.”
Here are the full details of what the nurse recounted, stressing that she was speaking on behalf of nurses, doctors, cleaning staff, lab technicians and X-ray staff.
All nurses, assistants and cleaning staff of the nursing department at the Kozhikode district hospital are on a six-hour duty. Throughout this duration, they have to wear the personal protective equipment (PPE) to take samples, interact with patients and even to clean the rooms of the patients, Sheena said.
“Once we wear the PPE gear, we cannot drink water or go to the toilet for six hours,” she said.
To further explain the difficulty in performing certain tasks in the PPE, she quotes a small example. “It is difficult to administer Intravenous (IV) fluids wearing the goggles. We struggle to find the vein to insert the cannula. To limit the exposure, we cannot even touch the needle,” she explained.
After the throat and nasal swabs and the blood samples of the patients are collected, the nurse has to pack the specimen in three layers of packaging before handing it over to the laboratory for testing.
Since the medical staff are covered head to toe in the gear, they cannot recognise each other. “We wear a sticker saying ‘doctor’ or ‘nurse’ on the gear, but we do not know who the person is. Of course, we know who is on duty that day,” she said.
The most affected section of medical workers, Sheena said, is the cleaning staff. They have to handle the masks, papers and food waste of COVID-19 patients and those who haven’t yet been confirmed, and dispose of all this waste separately according to the Biomedical Waste Management guidelines.
“Normally people sweat even while doing normal household chores, so imagine this. These cleaning staff members are dehydrated after the six-hour shift, they are drenched in sweat when they come out. Some have tears in their eyes at the end of the shift. But they do their job with dedication,” Sheena told the actor.
“The patients don’t know who they are speaking to because of the head-to-toe gear; yet, they interact with us, enquire about us and appreciate us. Some patients tell us that they understand what we are going through in these PPE kits,” said Sheena.
Volunteer organisations, too, lend a helping hand to the medical staff. For example, if a patient needs a three-pin plug to charge their phone, volunteers deliver it to the hospital immediately. “Books, pens, rice or clothes, they deliver it with just one call. They also deliver four meals and snacks every day for the medical staff,” said Sheena.
Food for patients is supplied based on a set menu at the hospital. If the patient requests for kanji (rice porridge), it is immediately prepared at the hospital for them.
The staff make sure that they communicate with the patients’ families regularly. When a patient or their family enquires if the test has come negative, they ensure that they do not announce the result outright. “Instead, we try to say that there is more virus in the body and that only if it is completely cleared can the patient be discharged,” said Sheena.
According to Sheena, the medical staff including doctors, nurses, assistants and X-ray staff, are on nine to 10 days of continuous duty, which is followed by a 14-day quarantine at the hospital. A majority of the nurses are women and many have young children.
“Some of these mothers cry as they have to stay away from their children, some as young as two or four years old, for close to a month. But we support each other,” said Sheena, adding, “Please consider that our families are also in this fight against COVID-19.”
Sheena said that there have been instances when health workers were treated badly or with suspicion. “Our families are also suffering. What keeps us going is that the government, Chief Minister and Health Minister have kept us close to them, supported us.”
She admitted that medical workers are scared when they hear about staff in other states testing positive for the virus. “We wait every day for this to subside. But teamwork plays a vital role in putting us at ease. A small communication gap can cause a lot of concerns. Besides, Kozhikode was a district that managed the Nipah outbreak. The knowledge of handling such crises and our training gives us confidence,” said Sheena, who is also a state-level infection control trainer.
Mammootty agreed when Sheena said Kerala is doing relatively better in containing the spread of COVID-19. “One should be happy about it but should not celebrate it. It is not time to celebrate it yet,” he quickly added.
“There are others who are suffering because of the pandemic. Only if people across the globe fully recover and are safe, can we be safe and completely happy,” he said, urging the public to follow the lockdown rules.