As the National Capital recovers from the second wave of the pandemic, the horror stories of what was happening just a fortnight ago are still heard everywhere. Many lives were lost while searching for beds at hospitals, hundreds died because they panicked in the absence of doctors who could guide them.?
Delhi-based Dr Amrendra Jha believes that hundreds of lives could have been saved, if people had got medical advice at the right time.
Dr Jha has been treating people since the beginning of the pandemic. During the peak of the second wave, he was able to guide and save at least 1,000 patients through online consultation.?
Speaking to Indiatimes, Dr Jha said that the second wave was enormous and it caught all of us underprepared. Hospital beds, ventilators and oxygen supply were really scarce.? ?
¡°While I was trying to understand what was happening, I started getting calls. People were reporting Covid symptoms one after the other. Most of the people wanted to contact doctors, who are known to them, nobody was trusting hospitals,¡± recalls Dr Jha.
¡°Then, I decided to do tele consultation. Many people got relief after being prescribed the correct medicine. Earlier, they were just trusting the internet sources. I only tried to help them as much as I could,¡± he adds.
He remembers one of his neighbours, who reported that she was not well. Next day, she died. We arranged an oxygen bed for her, but soon she required a ventilator, which was unavailable. That episode left Dr Jha under deep trauma.
Meanwhile, he started getting at least 100 calls daily. Patients were asking questions and clarifying their confusion about coronavirus.
¡°My main job was to give confidence to them along with the correct medical advice. I used to tell them that a qualified doctor is looking after them and they need not worry,¡± he says.
Dr Jha then shared his contact number on social media. More people started calling him and he answered each one of them.
He believes that at least 200 people didn¡¯t go to hospital after consulting him and they recovered at home.?
¡°Some of them actually didn¡¯t require hospitalisation. They were kept at home and given oxygen at the required pace. Most of them recovered.¡±
Dr Jha says that only providing oxygen at home doesn¡¯t solve the problem. We have to make sure that it is given properly and helps in breathing. Many calls regarding how to give oxygen were received by him and he directed people to follow the correct procedure.