Healthcare crisis during pandemic

    It is in the time of crisis that we feel the pinch of everything. Small things which used to be so common to be noticed will become rare and highly invaluable. The present health care is suffering now from this type of systemic problem.

    Humans like all other species are prone to different kinds of diseases which can generate both from within like genetic diseases and also can originate from the nature outside us. Broadly these can be classified into communicable and non communicable diseases. After gaining considerable control over the communicable diseases through the invention of vaccines and drugs, our focus in the post modern world was on non communicable diseases which will be individual specific. But time made us dwelve very deep into this subject that over a period we started ignoring communicable diseases. This slowly developed as a systemic problem and today we are facing the brunt of this mistake during the pandemic.

    The present health care system with all the doctors and nurses are trained to handle diseases during normal times. They have not experienced this type of pandemic situation before and don't know how to act. People with non communicable diseases in emergency situations have become the victim of the pandemic fear. The hospitals are weary to admit a patient without a COVOD report. There is lack of bed availability in the system to cater to a huge population. Research on all other diseases have become abysmal and most of the efforts are focused on finding a vaccine to the pandemic. Some hospitals have turned to crony capitalism demanding huge sums of money and bribe to book a bed and receive treatment irrespective of the socio economic situation of the victim. The fear of the infection has driven the hospitals to look for reports of COVID even if the patient is suffering from a severe ailment.

    Uncertain times are those when our integrity towards our duty is tested. It is a test of time to withstand the pressure and uphold our values. The government must act quickly to do something about patients suffering from diseases other than COVID by employing quick reporting of COVID, sanitised spaces and protection standards to cater to them in case of emergency. It is time that the hospitals start treating COVID as another infectious disease, adopt safety standards and norms with sanitisation, face masks and ppe kits and start tending to the needy and uphold their status in the society as a responsible citizen and a warrior.