The Healthcare Worker’s Safety to the Fore

The Covid pandemic has been ravaging India for the last 6 months. At Max Healthcare, we had started work on tackling the disease in end February and by mid-March we had the plans and the treatment protocols ready. These were of course based on the data and the knowledge that was trickling in from other parts of the world where the disease was already playing havoc with the lives of patients and an ill-prepared army of healthcare workers. As the stringent lock-down imposed by the Government of India from the last week of March till almost the end of May delayed the deluge of patients in the hospitals in India, we got time to fine-tune our response to the disease and also secure supplies for the protection of the healthcare workers on the forefront of the fight.

It is hard to imagine anything good, which has emerged from the global scourge. Yet, there is one heartening thing that comes to mind. The disease has put a sharp lens on the issue of the safety of healthcare workers. This is indeed a welcome development. In the past, the hospitals were mostly focused on patient safety. I recall being part of long and somewhat dreary meetings discussing patient safety data in almost all the hospitals that I have worked in. These would include large presentation decks slicing and dicing data around patient safety parameters and alarms will be raised even if there were minute transgressions from established norms. This focus on patient safety was always reassuring. It was good to know that the hospitals were serious about patient safety issues and alert to any possible errors leading to compromised patient outcomes.

Strangely, I do not recall even a modicum of such rigor when it came to the safety of healthcare workers. Apart, from an odd slide about the omnipresent needle stick injuries (NSI) and perhaps a mishap or two, there were hardly any deliberation on the safety of the healthcare workers. It was mostly understood that these folks will take sufficient precautions on their own and look after themselves.

Healthcare workers have been exposed to unprecedented personal risk during Covid 19 pandemic. As they look after sick Covid patients they run a great risk to their own health and also to their families. This is even worse than soldiers on our borders, who are constantly at physical risk but mercifully, their families remain safe. While well aware of the situation, healthcare workers have steadfastly continued in their solemn duty of looking after the sick even if they and their loved ones came in harm’s way. The hospitals have also realized the grave danger faced by these intrepid warriors literally every day from an unknown, unseen and unforgiving foe. While, in the initial days of the pandemic one witnessed utter chaos in the hospitals in the country with personal protection equipment being in short supply and hospitals scrambling to shore up supplies from vendors across the world, things settled down in a few weeks. Hospitals have since than mostly ensured that their front-line workers are well protected.

At Max Hospitals itself, we have seen over 750 healthcare workers catching the disease and falling sick. All these patients were provided healthcare support by the hospital and those needing admission were treated at the hospital. The insurance cover provided by the organization to all its healthcare workers took care of the in-patient expenses, all outpatient expenses were borne by the hospital. The healthcare workers were also provided quarantine facilities in and around the hospitals and all their expenses during the quarantine period were met by the hospital. I am sure other leading healthcare providers in the country would not have done anything different. This is as it should be.

Covid 19 has led many hospitals in India to review and revise their policies regarding their healthcare workers. There is a far better realization of the value of each individual, be it a nurse or a support staff team member or a clinician. There is greater appreciation and concern for their safety and well-being. I will not be wrong in stating that today the safety of healthcare workers at their work places is considered as important as patient’s safety in the hospital.

This change is a fundamental change and not driven by the exigencies of the pandemic alone. While, the extremely contagious nature of the disease and the high risk it posed to all healthcare workers triggered the shift in thinking, it has taken deep roots in a relatively short albeit taxing period of time.

One hopes that this will last well after the Covid crisis is done and dusted.