“I did not just get treated here, I got love too,” the 43-year-old Chinese patient who will be remembered as the country’s first detected Covid-19 patient said when she was discharged from the National Institute of Infectious Diseases (IDH) in late February.
For Special Grade Nursing Officer Geethani Udugamakorala this hit home. She will cherish the comment forever, because for her this is what the IDH stands for.
Staff at the hospital in Angoda is on the frontline as they battle the coronavirus pandemic every day. Now, reaching its capacity of about 120 and stretching it to house 143 Covid-19 patients the staff numbering around 535 is working tirelessly to ensure that all patients are treated with care and love.
“When we got the report confirming the first Covid-19 patient on January 26 we were a little scared. We did not know what will happen to the country if the virus starts to spread,” Udugamakorala recalls.
Husbands of young nurses attached to the hospital even sought reassurance from the hospital management that their spouses will not be exposed to danger.
Udugamakorala said, “During the war our soldiers didn’t ask to stay home. They went and fought it. That is what we have to do now too. We have to do our part for the country.”
Now, with the backing of their family members and united as a family,the staff at IDH has braced themselves to fight the war against this unseen enemy. The Director of the hospital, Dr. Hasitha Attanayaka, Deputy Director, Dr Chintha Sooriyaarchchi, Special Grade Nursing Officers Vajira Ranasinghe and Udugamakorala, and everyone else at the hospital are fully committed to the battle against Covid – 19 and nursing the patients back to health. It is a team effort of those who Udugamakorala calls ‘children worth gold’.
This is not the first time IDH is dealing with high-octane situations and battling an alien disease. In 2003, during the outbreak of SARS, another coronavirus, the hospital treated 28 patients. They did not know anything about the virus and didn’t have the necessary equipment to fight. “We used shopping bags as protective gear,” Udugamkorala laughs.
Before that, in 2009, the outbreak of N1H1 which is commonly known as swine flu saw about 980 admissions. In 2017, 17,445 of Colombo’s 35,000 dengue patients were treated at the IDH. The hospital and its staff have been pivotal in managing most of the deadly outbreaks in the country.
More than anyone, the people living around the hospital are aware of its silent battles. This could be why when the pandemic hit the country, the villagers offered their vehicles to the hospital to transport staff or opened their homes to house staff travelling from long distances.
Then there are the patients who are treated at the hospital and appreciate the service rendered to them. Most leave saying that the IDH could be the best hospital in the world. The nurses don’t know how far this is true but they are motivated by it. In other instances, the in-house Covid-19 patients offer to undertake activities such as making their own beds to ensure that the staff has minimal exposure to the virus.
But how do they really go about fighting this still vague enemy? Improvisation is the key at the IDH. They have made up their own set of rules, taken effective precautions, and even shared their experiences with other hospitals. It has worked well. None of the IDH staffers have thus far been diagnosed with the virus.
Later, we are introduced to Sunil, a minor staffer who has changed the game. Initially, Sunil has single handedly, and then with help of his friends, made hundreds of face shields for the hospital staff. He makes them out of transparent paper, sponge and pieces of elastic. He has even made shoe covers with polythene and elastic. His service comes at a time when PPE supplies are running low in the country.
Yet, it is not a walk in the park for everyone at IDH. Due to the lack of awareness about their work, most staff members are facing discrimination in their home towns. One young nurse was turned away from her village clinic because she works at the IDH, and others have experienced numerous instances where they or their family members were avoided by the villagers fearing they would spread the virus.
“There is no chance for us to take the virus home to our loved ones. We have the utmost protection and even bathe before going home. It is sad when people react this way to us,” Udugamakorala said.
Also, there is the sadness of losing the patients. Four of the patients who were treated at the IDH died from Covid-19. The nurse remembers their names well- Hemal, Amrith, Dharmasiri and Milton.
“We will do everything we can and look after our patients like mothers do till they get better. We want everyone who comes here to get better and go back to their families,” she said.
Even on Sinhala and Tamil New Year day in Mid-April the hospital organised a small event for the patients.
Now, the IDH is known as the ‘Centre of Excellence’. “A large number of Covid-19 patients come to the IDH. With the expertise of our team most of them recover and are discharged,” Hospital Director, Dr. Attanayake said.