Frontline Workers in dire need of assistance

The first onset of COVID in the country almost 2 years ago saw countless regulations, lockdown rules, safety guidelines and sanitation programs put into place in the nation. Medical professionals were mass mobilized and hospitals and their medical practitioners around the country designated to help out with the dire COVID situation in the country. Almost 2 years on since these frontline workers were thrust amidst one of the biggest health crises the country-the world has ever faced, and still these heroes are found mistreated and shunned in every new strategy and policy authorities devise.

The rise of the Omicron variant has seen hospitals and labs flooding with people picking up the virus from almost everywhere. Pair the highly contagious nature of the new variant up with the hasty, haywire vaccination plan devised by the concerned authorities, Nepal and its most populous districts were destined to be an Omicron hotbed.

And Amidst the overflowing hospitals and endlessly queues of these hospitals one finds the overworked, mistreated heroes that selflessly deployed to the frontlines when their country called.

The frontline workers, the health practitioners working day and night in service of COVID victims suffer from a mismanagement crisis born out of a lack of respect for their dedication and haphazard hasty blueprint in resource allocation.

“It’s not well managed! From centralized vaccination plans to resource and manpower allocation the strategy implemented by the authorities seem to be failing to help prevent the spread and instead affecting the frontline workers such as ourselves.” says Dr. Sagar Devokota, a frontline worker based in Sindhuli.

“The situation is quite complex, the hospitals may have the resources necessary to help prevent the spread but the manpower is lacking. Most doctors here have received due compensation for barely 2 months having worked for more than half a year, there is no motivation for them to work and dedicate themselves for the long arduous hours that they do” adds a concerned Devkota.

While some hospitals have patients and ICU beds filled to the brim some find themselves barely filled with any COVID case at all with valuable medical resources that could be better allocated elsewhere. Speaking of the solutions to better managing the situation at hand, Dr. Laxman Paudyal of Gandaki Medical College suggests, “The structuring of the hospitals and the allocation of patients need to be matched, those hospitals that receive a huge influx of patients must be backed up by practitioners from hospitals that may not have as many cases, the manpower must meet the demand so that the brave workers aren’t overworked and the patients themselves get the best care that they can.”

“The bottom line is that the ball needs to start rolling from the top, we medical workers operate and mobilize on the whim of the authorities, hence if they are to devise a comprehensive plan of action that would be best for everyone involved.” he concludes.