Dr Ram sheds light on his experience of working on the frontline in Kuwait

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‘Avoid going to crowded places, use proper face masks…’

The Lancet, the world’s oldest, and best known general medical journals, carried an editorial on March 21 on the role of healthcare workers and their relentless fight against an insidious and invisible enemy. It spoke of the risks, both mental and physical, that medical professionals are fighting as they go about fighting the pandemic.

The Lancet said, “Worldwide, as millions of people stay at home to minimize transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 health care workers prepare to do the exact opposite. They will go to clinics, hospitals, putting themselves at high risk from COVID-2019.”

The risk of infection for healthcare workers following exposure in hospitals is a hard reality. Hundreds of doctors and nurses around the world have died in the line of duty.

In Kuwait, Dr Tarek Hussiein Mekhaymar, an Egyptian ENT physician at Kuwait’s Zain Hospital, and a Filipino nurse passed away due to complications from the virus.

But despite the risks, these corona warriors go on tirelessly working to help save lives. Kuwait has put up a long and hard fight against COVID- 19. And in this fight, doctors, nurses and other health professionals, both Kuwaiti and expatriate have joined in.

Dr Mohan Ram is a clinical haematologist with the Kuwait Cancer Control Center. In regular times, Dr Ram treats blood-related disorders including acute and chronic leukaemia, lymphoma, myeloma, myelodysplastic syndrome, anaemias and other challenging diseases.

At present, however, he has thrown his lot with his other colleagues in fighting the pandemic. Dr Ram is also the General Secretary of the Indian Doctors Forum, a fellowship of Indian doctors working in Kuwait, an organization whose members are playing a stellar role in actively supporting Kuwait’s fight against COVID-19.

At present, Dr Mohan Ram’s work is patient care and screening people for possible symptoms. Dr Ram knows that he and his colleagues walk into grave danger knowingly every day, but they do it because this is a war, and they are the real heroes in their PPE and scrubs. In this interview with Arab Times, Dr Mohan Ram speaks of his experience of working on the frontline and the safety measures he is following to safeguard himself and his family. He also sheds some light on the growing number of cases among the expatriates.

AT: Where and in what capacity are your working now?

Dr Mohan Ram: I am a haematologist. I have been working with Kuwait Cancer Control Center since 2006. At present, I am with Jaber Al Ahmad Hospital working with coronavirus patient in the isolation centre. When I was assigned to the job, I was a little tensed. I went back home and told my wife, who said that serving people in distress is the right thing to do in the current situation. God is great, and he will help us through this tough time. My wife has been extremely strong and supportive.

AT: What does your job involve at present?
Dr Mohan Ram: At present, I am in Jaber Al Ahmad Hospital which has been made into a temporary quarantine centre for COVID-19. The quarantine and treatment centre has a capacity of around 200 beds. I am involved in patient care, including swab testing. There are about 20 medical doctors from different hospitals, along with doctors from public health. There are many nurses from Jaber Hospital and teams from defence fields who are involved in data collection and other patient care. We have a large team over there. Patients admitted to Jaber quarantine centre are either those who have come from abroad or had contact with positive COVID-19. Usually, they are asymptomatic, but sometimes they have some complaints like fever, pain, cough and other joint problems. We treat most of them symptomatically, but sometimes we need to refer them to Jaber Hospital casualty by ambulance. We also refill the chronic disease medications as patients stay in the casualty for a longer duration. Some of these patients seem stressed out because of this unseen enemy, but we try our level best to support them during this challenging time.

AT: You are coming in touch with COVID patients. How do you ensure the safety of your family?
Dr Mohan Ram: Every day I return home a bit hesitant and fearful. But I do take full precautions before entering the home. I remove my clothes and shoes outside. I put my clothes in the washing machine and take a full shower before touching anything or hugging my children although sometimes they do rush to touch me. It’s challenging to follow social distancing at home, but I try my level best to keep the children away. At times I wonder that whereas ordinary people are afraid to go out of their homes, I am afraid to go into mine.

AT: How are you looking after yourself?
Dr Mohan Ram: I have shift duty. I work eight hours for three days, followed by two days off. I am taking full precaution as per MoH and infection control guidelines like proper handwashing, and wearing PPE.

AT: From the time you began work at the Jaber Hospital until now – how has the journey progressed? Have the demographics of the patients changed?
Dr Mohan Ram: Initially when I started working there I saw mostly nationals being admitted and tested as they were coming from abroad, although there were few expatriates as well. Recently, I have noticed a lot of expat population, mainly daily wage-earning Indians.

AT: How are the patients when they come in? How is their clinical condition?
Dr Mohan Ram: When patients come for admission or swab testing, the majority of them are healthy and fit, even though I can see they are tensed and curious about this unseen enemy. I try my level best to explain and console them. A lot of things have to be done, including counselling them in their language before sending them over.

AT: You must be noticing more and more expat patients come in – what is the reason for this? Why are expats getting infected?
Dr Mohan Ram: There are many reasons for this like living standards, proper hygiene, social distancing, adequate hand washing, and not following proper instructions given by authority due to lack of education.

AT: The rising cases among expatriates – is it negligence on their part, or were they going about earning their livelihood and getting infected through contact?
Dr Mohan Ram: I would not say this is due to negligence; instead, it is a matter of them earning their livelihood and getting infected from positive patients.

AT: As a doctor, what do you think these people should have done to avoid infections? If they wash their hands regularly, wear masks, use hand sanitizers – while they go about doing their jobs – can they avoid getting infected?
Dr Mohan Ram: As a doctor and responsible resident, I would advise them to avoid going to crowded places, use proper face masks, hand sanitizer, and gloves to prevent infection. I have had many calls from the community regarding COVID-19. They have not reported to the clinic in time. Many times I have explained to them that there is nothing to worry regarding safety, food and treatment.

AT: Have you had any difficult experiences dealing with patients in the facility?
Dr Mohan Ram: I have not faced any difficulty. Although it is a difficult and challenging job, we have full protection and support from our MoH and other related authorities.

AT: Any last words, Dr Ram?
Dr Mohan Ram: I would like to thanks MoH, MoI, Defense and other related authorities including cleaners, porters, committee leaders for supporting and doing an excellent job during this pandemic. I am very sure we shall tide this crisis very soon. I would like to thank the Indian Doctors Forum (IDF), Kuwait, a premium association under the umbrella of KMA for doing an excellent job for the community as a whole. May Almighty Allah bless us all with good health.

By Chaitali B. Roy Special to the Arab Times

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