My story of struggle was published in The Quint’s My Report section on 18 April. The story went viral and it was seen by both the health department of the Government of India, and the RML Hospital administration, who took cognizance of the matter.
On 27 April, the Director-General of Health Services (DGHS) issued an order to the Ms/Directors of the central government hospital to ‘identify a suitable site in the hospital with five to 10 beds along with consumables and equipment for attending such staff patients’.
On the very same day, the hospital also issued a notification that read ‘when a healthcare workers of this hospital needs admission, s/he should be admitted on priority’.
I am happy that this issue was taken into consideration quickly after the story was published. I hope that the arrangements the hospital is making run smoothly.
What Had Happened?
On 11 April, I went to the COVID screening centre at Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, in Delhi, where I had to struggle to get myself tested because of the VIP culture at the hospital.
On 12 April, my test report came and it said that I am COVID-positive and by 17 April my condition deteriorated. I was having difficulty in breathing, my heart rate reached 155-160 BPM, and I was coughing severely.
Since I am a PG resident at the Department of Dermatology at Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, I rushed there for medical support.
One would find it difficult to believe: Despite being a doctor and a frontline worker, I was unable to get a bed at the hospital. I waited for at least 30 minutes to get oxygen at the hospital’s trauma centre. Moreover, even a bed was not allotted to me.
(Dr Manish Jangra is a Junior Resident Doctor at Dr Ram Manohar Hospital in New Delhi)
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