On Saturday, a 29-year-old woman, who was cured of COVID-19, delivered a baby boy through Caesarian section at the Government Medical College Hospital Kannur in Pariyaram. It was the first C-section in Kerala, and third in India, on a patient cured of COVID-19.
The feat boosted the morale of the frontline healthcare workers at the hospital, who have been tirelessly working to check the spread of COVID-19, the disease caused by coronavirus, and bring the infected people back to life.
The institute is one of the three medical college hospitals designated as COVID-19 care centres in Kerala, the other two being Kozhikode and Ernakulam. Hundreds of symptomatic and asymptomatic persons – mainly from Kerala's COVID-19 hotspots Kasaragod and Kannur districts – visit the hospital each day for COVID-19 screening and treatment.
Twenty-nine infected people were admitted to the hospital of which 15 have been discharged so far. One person died on Saturday. Conditions of the remaining 13 patients, including a man and woman above 80 years, are said to be stable.
Though the COVID-19 threat looks under control at the moment, the hospital authorities are not ready to take any chances. They are now charting out plans to face any eventuality and spruce up the treatment facilities. "We will soon earmark 1000 beds for COVID-19 patients. We are ready to face any crisis," said hospital superintendent Dr K Sudeep.
At present, the hospital has 70 bath-attached, individual isolation rooms and 200 beds in the general ward. Additional space for 500 beds will be identified on Monday. Space for another 200 beds will be earmarked on the nearby Government Ayurveda College Hospital campus, he said.
In an interview with Onmanorama, Sudeep explained the enormity of the task at hand and plans to tackle the crisis. He praised the dedicated efforts of frontline health workers and also touched upon the precautions to be taken after the current crisis gets over.
Edited excerpts from the interview:
• How big is the COVID-19 challenge for the Government Medical College Hospital Kannur?
The hospital handles more COVID-19 cases than any other medical college hospitals in Kerala as it caters to patients from Kasaragod and Kannur district, which together reported more than 50 per cent of the cases in the state (Of the 194 COVID-19 patients admitted to hospitals, 139 were from these two districts).
Twenty-nine COVID-19 patients were admitted to the hospital. Hundreds of people come to the hospital with various symptoms every day.
It is a huge challenge to handle the situation. But our dedicated team, comprising 75 doctors, 200 nurses, 100 nursing assistants, 75 cleaning staff and 20 security personnel, work tirelessly to check the spread of the disease and bring infected persons back to life.
• How about the working hours of frontline health workers?
They work in three shifts of eight hours each. After completing 14 days of duty, they will be in quarantine for the next 14 days.
• How do you ensure their protection?
Their safety is our top priority. We provide personal protection equipment (PPE) to all team members. They also use special face shields for additional protection. We have procured 9,000 hydroxychloroquine tablets for them.
Treating COVID-19 patients is a stressful job as health workers are at huge risk of contracting the disease. To address this, we have set up a team of psychiatrists. Health workers can seek their advice anytime round-the-clock.
We have a zero-tolerant approach toward safety. To protect the lab staff who collect throat swabs, we will soon install South Korea-like kiosks with in-built gloves.
• How many COVID-19 patients can be treated at the hospital at a time?
At present, we have 70 bath-attached, individual isolation rooms, 200 beds in the general ward and 25 intensive care unit (ICU) beds. We will increase the number of beds to 1,000 soon. For this, we will finalise space for 500 beds by Monday. Space for another 200 beds will be earmarked on the nearby Government Ayurveda College Hospital campus.
• What is the biggest issue you are facing at the moment?
What worries us most is the scarcity of ventilators. Life of critical COVID-19 patients could be saved only with the life-support system. The hospital has only 40 ventilators of which 10 have been earmarked for COVID-19 treatment. We need more ventilators.
• How effective is the treatment so far?
Of the 29 who sought treatment, 15 persons have been discharged, as on April 12, 2020. This includes two women who are in the early stages of pregnancy.
At present, 13 persons are under treatment, including an 80-year-old man from Kannur district and an 81-year-old woman from Kasaragod. Both of them are stable now. The man had respiratory ailment before contracting COVID-19.
One person had died (71-year-old P Mehroof, who hailed from the Union Territory of Mahe in Puducherry state succumbed to the virus on Saturday). He was brought to the hospital in a highly critical condition. We treated him for four days, but we could not save his life.
• Can you give a rough idea about the cost of COVID-19 treatment?
The treatment cost varies from person to person. A minimal amount is needed to treat healthy patients. Aged patients and those with underlying health issues may need special care, including ventilator support. In such cases, the cost may go up to Rs 2 lakh.
• A woman cured of COVID-19 has given birth to a child at the hospital. How significant it is?
It was a huge morale booster for the medical fraternity. The 29-year-old woman from Kumbala in Kasaragod district gave birth to a baby boy on Saturday.
A team of doctors from the gynaecology department performed C-section wearing personal protection equipment. That was first C-section on a woman cured of COVID-19 in the state and third in the country. The baby boy weighed 3 kg at the time of birth and is healthy.
• What do you think about the COVID-19 situation in Kannur and Kasaragod districts, the two hotspots in the state?
Things looked going out of control in Kasaragod in the first week of March. However, coordinated efforts from the government officials, local people and law enforcement agencies put things under control.
The number of positive cases has been coming down for the past couple of days in Kasaragod. The scenario is well under control in Kannur district too.
• What are the precautions we have to take after the lockdown?
We have to focus on reverse quarantine after the lockdown period. We have to look after the elderly. They should be asked not to step out of their homes and stop interacting with others. That is crucial in checking the virus spread.