COVID Fighters: Meet Stina P S, A 25-Year-Old Nurse In Delhi Who Treats COVID-19 Patients As Her Family

New Delhi: “When the COVID-19 pandemic began, I won’t lie, we were all a little scared. Mostly because we knew just a little about the disease. For me, it was a bit more uncomfortable since I was living so far away from my family. With the information changing daily-even hourly, we continued learning on the job. Soon we were not afraid of COVID-19 and our only mission became to protect patients and help them recover in every way possible,” said Stina P S who has been working as a nurse at Max Smart Super speciality Hospital, Saket in Delhi for three years. The 25-year-old nurse who hails from the state of Kerala serves in the COVID-19 ward of the hospital and considers nursing as the noblest profession.

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25-Year-Old Stina PS considers COVID patients as her own family

While talking to NDTV, Stina shared that she considers patients as her own family. She said,

Normally, when a patient is admitted in a hospital, their friends and family members keep visiting them and many times, a family member even stays day and night with the patient to take care of them. However, COVID does not allow this. If you get infected with COVID-19, your medical team becomes you family. I feel this deeply. I try to make patients feel comfortable and at home and I care for them as my own. I feel happy and content when a patient recovers and goes home healthy and full of hopes for the future. They shower us with blessings and even pray for our good health. Nursing is one of the noblest professions and I am glad that I chose it.

Stina works for 14 days at a stretch in rotating shifts of six hours per day. After completing 14 days, she is required to stay in quarantine for seven days followed by three days of leaves. Her day at work starts with wearing PPE (Personal Protection Equipment), which she is not allowed to remove until the end of the six-hour shift.

PPEs are extremely important. We used to be so uncomfortable in PPE initially but now we have become used to it. It’s like our second skin now. Even though I sweat a lot while IN the safety suit and there are still such times when I really wish all this to get over, the only positive point is that it has helped me become more confident in performing difficult medical procedures while wearing safety goggles and a suit which used to be very hard for me earlier, she said.

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After working for over seven months in a COVID ward, Stina contracted coronavirus last month. She received treatment at Max Smart Super speciality Hospital, Saket and recovered within a week. Soon after recovering, Stina came back to duty.

There is nothing to be afraid about. Even though the virus is very dangerous and in some cases we have seen patients’ health deteriorating within seconds, but we have been able to save so many lives and the recovery rate in our country is so high. The people are becoming more aware and the medical community is also becoming equipped with more and more information about the disease to fight it in an even better way, she said.

Stina who lives in a hostel with other nurses did not face any instance of discrimination or misbehaviour towards her for working as a nurse but expressed strongly against the ill-treatment faced by many other colleagues in the public healthcare system. While signing off she said,

It is currently, the need of the hour that we encourage more and more young girls and boys to choose the medical profession. The discriminatory behaviour against the healthcare workers will only discourage them. On one hand they call us health warriors and on the other they fear that we will give them the virus. It is so unfortunate that many of the nurses and doctors have sacrificed their lives, many are even battling anxiety and depression. I urge the people to support us in these times of crisis as we take care of them and keep them healthy.

Also Read: The Sikh Community Keeps Doing What It Does Right, Serves The People Selflessly Even During The Coronavirus Pandemic

NDTV – Dettol Banega Swasth India campaign is an extension of the five-year-old Banega Swachh India initiative helmed by Campaign Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan. It aims to spread awareness about critical health issues facing the country. In wake of the current COVID-19 pandemic, the need for WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) is reaffirmed as handwashing is one of the ways to prevent Coronavirus infection and other diseases. The campaign highlights the importance of nutrition and healthcare for women and children to prevent maternal and child mortality, fight malnutrition, stunting, wasting, anaemia and disease prevention through vaccines. Importance of programmes like Public Distribution System (PDS), Mid-day Meal Scheme, POSHAN Abhiyan and the role of Aganwadis and ASHA workers are also covered. Only a Swachh or clean India where toilets are used and open defecation free (ODF) status achieved as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014, can eradicate diseases like diahorrea and become a Swasth or healthy India. The campaign will continue to cover issues like air pollution, waste management, plastic ban, manual scavenging and sanitation workers and menstrual hygiene.