Jammu: Healthcare workers are sacrificing all their comforts to tackle the COVID-19 crisis across the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
Senior Staff Nurse, Mamta Sharma, has assisted at the delivery of almost 45 babies in the past three weeks, but she has not been able to hug her own children since the second wave of Covid pandemic began. “My shift continues for around 12 hours a day and when I reach home, I make sure that I am nowhere around my kids.”
She works at MCH Gandhi Nagar and her job includes attending Neonatal Intensive Care Units, NICU and Paediatric Intensive Care Units, PICU.
“We have successfully helped Covid positive mothers deliver healthy babies. The child is handed over only after the mother tests Covid negative,” she explains. She has also helped conduct surgeries of various kinds on Covid positive patients.
While talking about what is driving her to do her duty in times of crisis, Mamta proudly says that nothing makes her happier than seeing the smile on the faces of her patients. During the tough times of the pandemic, she said if there is one thing that is like a ray of hope, it is bringing a new life into the world. She said that the doctors and the paramedics are working day and night to save the lives of the patients and are taking full precautions to ensure that Covid appropriate norms are followed in the Hospitals.
When asked about how she helps her kids with their studies, she says, “I and my husband have bought them a separate handset for online studies. I do not let them use my phone anymore. I sit at a distance and help them as much as I can.”
She urged people who are in the frontline of duty to take adequate precautions while at home so as to ensure the safety of their families. She also urged the public to rise to the occasion and follow Covid appropriate behavior like wearing a mask, maintaining social distancing, frequent hand washing and avoid going out of their homes unnecessarily.
She said that people should also come forward and cooperate with the doctors and paramedics in their fight against Covid 19.
According to the World Health Organisation, data from many countries indicate that COVID-19 infections among health workers are far greater than those in the general population. While healthcare workers represent only two to three percent of any country’s population, yet around 14 percent of the Covid-19 cases are among health workers. In some countries, the figure is as high as 35 percent. Thousands of health workers have already lost lives to the pandemic worldwide. The pandemic has also placed enormous psychological stress on these frontline workers. It is the time we recognize their contribution and play our part in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic by rendering support to those on the frontline.
