Thiruvananthapuram: Medical team prides on successful Covid mission

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: After taking care of Covid-19 patients and setting up a Covid-special hospital from scratch in Kasaragod, a 27-member medical team has entered into a 14-day quarantine period at a Covid care home here on Friday. After one of the most challenging missions in their careers, the medical team, comprising 13 doctors, 10 nurses, and four nursing assistants, are back with the satisfaction of seeing six patients recover and return to their homes.

The team from

Thiruvananthapuram Medical College

was called to the Covid-19 hotspot on April 5 after the 115-bed district hospital ran out of its capacity following a sudden increase in positive cases.

Deputy superintendent of MCH, Thiruvananthapuram Dr S S Santhosh Kumar said that they were given the task of turning the academic block of the new Medical college building at Badiadka at Kasaragod.

Though the team was ready with its experience of setting up a corona care block in the MCH Thiruvananthapuram, turning the academic block into a special ward was challenging, especially with limited resources. Due to a lack of facilities for civil works or aluminum fabrication, the team used available furniture and ribbons to rearrange the block. "It was not easy to covert an academic block into a Covid ward. Covid wards should have single entry-exit, facilities for biomedical waste management, sorting area, buffer zone etc. Disinfection has to done on the floor, wall, and beds every four hours. To arrange a buffer zone, we vertically placed a set of steel cots to segregate the rooms of Covid patients from other areas," Dr Santhosh said.

The MCH team was able to accommodate the first set of six patients to the block on the first day itself. "The number of patients rose to around 19 at one point. We returned with the satisfaction of helping five patients recover. Also, samples of three patients were negative," he said.

Before starting their mission from Thiruvananthapuram, the list of team members had to be revised thrice after many medical workers backed off citing various concerns. "There was a training and we were given protective gear. It increased the confidence of team members. In the team briefing at the end of the mission, some commented that it was the most meaningful task they have ever taken up," Dr Santhosh said.

The team has entered a mandatory 14-day quarantine at

Cooperative Training Institute

, Manvila. "Whether it is a patient or a health worker, two major concerns during quarantine are getting food on time and having proper mobile connectivity. If people are ensured these two things, they are ready to adjust with the quarantine," he said. The team has returned with the confidence that the concern of Covid could be cleared soon.

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