Faizan Ahmad
Srinagar May 12 (KINS): It has been over a year since pandemic broke out. The deadly virus has created devastation across the world, claiming lakhs of lives. Amid this, there are nurses, doctors, paramedics, volunteers, ambulance drivers and others who are on the forefront to fight valiantly against COVID-19 in Kashmir.
On International Nurses Day which is observed every year on May 12 to honour the birth anniversary of Florence Nightingale, considered to be the founder of modern nursing, the Kashmir Indepth News Service (KINS) spoke to several nurses who are serving in various hospitals in Srinagar. They narrated the ordeal they went through for more than one year and said they want to ensure that all patients acquire personalized, high-quality services irrespective of their infectious condition.
Sabiya Jan (name changed) is one of the nurses working in one of the hospitals in Srinagar, which was designated as COVID hospital last year. She narrated: “In April last year, when the hospital administration prepared rosters for doctors and nurses, I was concerned to deal with coronavirus patients fearing I might catch infection then spread to my family. As I was gearing up for my first shift, I took a deep breath and had a bottle of water. I knew I won’t be able to even sip water after getting into it. I began to sweat and suffocate under the layers of the PPE. For several hours, I gave patients their dose of medicines. We had to monitor patients’ symptoms and follow-up on the results. This is our routine day in and out since last year.”
Stating that nurses not just offer first-aid and medicines but also words of kindness and encouragement, she said, “I remember talking to patients for a few minutes. Some turned teary-eyed. They hadn’t seen their family. I would boost their morale”
In June, she got infected by the virus with mild symptoms of fever and cough. “It impacted my whole family and was the toughest phase in our lives. After three weeks, I resumed my duties and since then I have been working in covid wards,” she said.
She said nurses are more vulnerable than doctors as they come in close contact with patients.
“It is nurses who have to take care of a patient 24×7. How can I leave my staff that is tirelessly working in the pandemic,” she asked.
After every three days, Sadiya (name changed), who is a nursing officer, had to travel more than 50 kilometres from her home to reach a hospital in Srinagar. Between April to June last year when there was complete lockdown and no transport on roads, she had no other option than to walk miles to do her duties.
“I cannot explain how we would reach the hospital. It was scary to walk on deserted roads and security checking points dotting along the way. Some people associated with emergency services would give lifts but most of the time we had to walk to reach to the hospital,” Sadiya narrates, while performing her duties at the hospital.
According to her, the administration had kept bus service available for the staff residing within a radius of 6-kilometres of hospital. “Nobody was renting us accommodation here for months after the pandemic broke out last year. We were facing social stigma. People preferred to stay away from us. Nobody wanted us to enter their homes saying they may get infected,” she said.
Another nursing officer said security forces deployed would stop him and colleagues when they were returning to their quarters after emergency duty in the hospital. “They were many times not even entertaining our identity cards,” he said. (KINS)
Int’l Nurses Day: Covid fails to deter these corona warriors from duties
