Doctors say they too need time to de-stress

Doctors say they too need time to de-stress

Death of doctor in Hassan district has the fraternity worried

12/06/2020

 

The death of a paediatrician on COVID-19 duty, reportedly following work-related stress, has upset the medical fraternity. They are all worried about their health as many, particularly those in government hospitals, have been working without taking a break for months.

Shivakiran, a paediatrician at the Alur taluk hospital, collapsed while on duty last week and suffered a hematoma. He died in the Hassan Institute of Medical Sciences in Hassan on Wednesday. He had been working at the hospital for the last three months without taking a weekly holiday or leave, like many others in the fraternity.

Appeal to govt.

Forums representing doctors have appealed to the State government to bring down pressure on the medical staff by taking necessary steps. K. Shankar, president of the Hassan unit of the Indian Medical Association (IMA), said, “It could be managed by dividing the staff into three batches and giving them breaks, holidays on rotation. The State body of the IMA has given its suggestions to the State government in this regard. I hope they will follow these steps to ease the situation.”

“We have all been working without a break all these days,” said a government medical officer, who wished not to be named. The staff members have been given the responsibility of handling fever clinics, where every patient has to be treated as a suspected COVID-19 patient.

“Forget leave, we have not availed of weekly holiday or general holiday in the last three months,” he said.

Even at the workplace, attending to the duty was not normal. They have to take extra care of themselves, besides attending to patients. There have been instances of public picking up arguments with doctors and other staff on the services provided.

“We cannot expect every visitor to be educated and be aware of the present condition. Many people walk in without masks. Sometimes we attend to accident cases where the injured is carried by a group of people. The staff members have to instruct all of them to wear masks and take precautionary measures. All this increase the stress on the staff,” said another doctor.

Besides the pressure at workplace, the doctors had difficulties in taking care of the family needs during the lockdown, said the doctor.