COVID Warriors: ‘Stay At Home Unless Absolutely Necessary,’ Says Piyush, A COVID Nurse From Mumbai

New Delhi: Piyush Vijayan, Speciality Nurse is the head nurse in the Sir HN Reliance Foundation hospital, who is posted at Sevehills COVID facility in Mumbai, which is one of the first dedicated COVID hospitals of the country. Piyush originally hails from Kerala where his parents currently reside and have not met them for a year, he wishes to visit them as soon as this pandemic comes to a halt.

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Talking about his job during the pandemic, he tells NDTV,

I’ve been posted as a floor in-charge nurse since March, in the COVID ward. I’m at the frontline of the COVID fight, and I’m taking care of mild to moderate COVID patients who are isolated in the ward. My day to day duties include taking care of the patients, and their medication administration, during my 8-10 hour long shift, which rotates from morning to evening to night.

Talking about the challenges he faces in his job amid a pandemic, Piyush says that ‘every day is a challenge’. However, the main one that hampers their communication and makes it difficult for them to provide care to the patients is the Personal Protective Equipment kits.

In the PPE kits, which we have to wear throughout our shift to protect ourselves, no one can see our faces. Patients are very anxious sometimes, they can’t see us, there is no connection, so it only triggers their anxiety. We aren’t able to comfort them in a way they need, due to the restrictions posed by our PPE kits. They also didn’t listen to us when we advised them something to help. Convincing them to agree with is another difficult task. We are trying our best to help them cope with this crisis situation, he said.

Talking about supporting his team and colleagues, Piyush says that as nurses, they are dealing with lots of people and departments where everyone is facing frustration. This frustration is a direct result of long working hours, stressful shifts plus the PPE kits. Therefore, cooperation is an absolutely crucial part of their job right now.

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He further said that his colleagues also get very anxious about their family, as some of them haven’t met their families in 6-7 months, since they are all putting up in a hotel right now. While on the other hand there’s also the fear of contracting the disease.

Supporting each other to maintain a positive attitude is also quite challenging, said Piyush.

Piyush says that he’s very thankful for his hospital as they are paying the utmost attention to the safety of their healthcare workers. He and his team get tested every alternate day, through antigen testing and once a week they get RT-PCR tests.

Every doctor, nurse and healthcare worker is giving their best to this crisis situation. I would like to request all the people to please follow COVID protocols to protect themselves and others. Stay at home unless absolutely necessary, Piyush signed off.

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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.