Letters

Our Mission Hospitals During the Time of COVID19

Dear Friends

Grace and Peace to you in our Lord Jesus Christ

In an unprecedented crisis like this our Mission Hospitals have continued to keep their doors open to patients come in with various kinds of emergencies.

The surrounding private clinics are closed and the nearest Government Hospital is taken up with the management of COVID positives. This has resulted in an increased number of patients coming in for delivery, who have not been booked in the Hospital. There has also been an increase in all kinds of emergencies. The OPD and IP numbers have fallen drastically though.

PPEs which are the dire necessities of the day are woefully inadequate. This has caused much anxiety among the staff who are handling emergencies daily. Especially, those who come in with exacerbations of the symptoms of COPD and Asthma and those presenting in Pulmonary edema produce much aerosol in symptoms and in the process of management. There is much need of PPEs in the labour room, OR, X-Ray department, lab, triage areas and the ‘fever clinics. Some of them have to be intubated. In such conditions there is a crying need of PPEs and in many places, doctors, nurses and the helper staff have inadequate protection. But still they labour on, faith and compassion driving them.

Many mission hospitals have also been asked to be COVID ready. This means that if the Government facilities overflow the COVID positive patients will be sent to the mission Hospitals for management. In many places our friends have scrambled to improvise new wards, locally made PPEs and other instruments needed to be prepared to admit patients.

Most of our hospitals run with a few staff who take up multiple tasks. The workforce is already looking strained. The recent incidents of violence against doctors have also increased the sense of anxiety. In some of our mission hospitals, violent and unruly behaviour from patients is the norm and in times such as these it is a factor increasing the anxiety too.

One the economic front, like all small establishments, our missions are also facing an acute crunch. Most of our hospitals try just make about their salaries every month. The meagre savings goes into buying much overdue equipment or occasionally into buildings. The present crisis has reduced incomes drastically as the number of patients coming to the general OPD and for elective surgery had fallen significantly. Additional foreign contribution may also be not forthcoming as the western nations themselves grapple with heavy causalities.

Amidst all this it is heartening to see the way our missions have kept going. The uniting factor amidst all these hospitals is the compassion for the suffering that rises out of the faith in out Lord Jesus Christ. Some of our friends have gone one step ahead and have taken food supplies to the most vulnerable and marginalised communities.

It would be our privilege to hold up these places of care and comfort where the suffering ones are cared for the sufferings of the present and given a hope for eternity. Let us do our bit in praying for them, encouraging them, helping them to get PPEs and extending our financial support for them, to these places which stand in His name.

A list containing Hospital networks, small hospitals and contact details is attached below.

Emmanuel Hospital Association (EHA)

Dr SairaPaulose

Email: [email protected]

Phone and WhatsApp no: +91 8986988191

EHA has many hospitals and community projects in its network

The Leprosy Mission (TLM)

Dr Famkima

Email: [email protected]

Phone and WhatsApp no: +91 8145409737

TLM has many hospitals and community projects in its network

CMAI