Sunday, December 27, 2020

Not All Santa's Wear Red - Some Wear White!

Season's Greetings - A Special Message from Dr. Wasim Ghori


Dr. Waim Ghori, M.D.
Dr. Wasim Ghori is the Medical Director & Consultant Diabetologist, Heart & Diabetes Clinics, Mumbai.

In this article, he takes stock of the current COVID19 situation and how healthcare workers have gone the extra-lengths to highlight the work and efforts to provide care and relief, saving lives at the risk of their own.

 

Nine months may as well be a lifetime!

The COVID-19 pandemic has left its mark on the entire world and will continue to do so well into 2021.

2020 has been a tough year. It will always be remembered as the year a virus brought the world to its knees - locked down, shut away and isolated.

But more than that, it will be remembered as the year the medical community and health workers across different countries, cities and villages stood bravely on the frontlines of a war against COVID-19, in the face of a highly infectious and unknown virus, to save lives – often at the cost of their own.

One of the groups most affected by the outbreak has been those in the hospitals taking care of people infected by the virus. There were doctors, nurses, ward boys, janitors, pharmacists, ambulance drivers, morgue attendants, bio-waste sanitation staff, medical officers, community health workers, ASHA workers, inoculators – too many to count, in hospitals, clinics, isolation facilities, clinical wards, ICUs, health centres, nursing homes across India and across the globe - their valiant effort keeping us safe, looking after infected patients, providing them not only medical aid, but also the emotional support & care they needed in isolation.

The conditions were supremely tough – stigma to begin with, long hours in suffocating hot PPE kits, dehydration, hunger, separation from their own families, the constant threat from the virus. They didn’t back down. They fought valiantly.

In a year defined by what will likely be the biggest health care crisis of our lifetimes, tens of millions of doctors, nurses and caregivers have demonstrated courage, compassion, stamina and selflessness unlike anything we have seen.

These medical bravehearts have bravely gone above and beyond in looking after those affected by the Pandemic. As the COVID-19 virus spreads across the globe and researchers mobilized to develop a safe and effective vaccine, healthcare workers adapted and innovated to serve their communities.

A mere thank you does not begin to convey the gratitude we feel for health care workers. Neither it does bring back the lives we have lost to this virus, nor does it make up for the unrelenting stress caused by isolation from friends and loved ones.

Furthermore, the pandemic has exposed many of healthcare industry’s shortcomings, but it has also highlighted many opportunities to re-imagine the future of care.

Opportunities to simplify access to data-driven insights, to improve the interoperable exchange of critical health data and to address the crisis of healthcare workers' burnout.

As we enter the New Year, I’m optimistic and confident that together we can advance the pace of improvement. We all know health care is too important to stay the same.

As we near the end of a demanding and tumultuous 2020, with the next bringing the promise of a vaccine, I want to express sincere gratitude and appreciation to all my friends, colleagues and frontline health workers around the world who have sacrificed so much in the fight against COVID-19 and helped the world back on its feet.



I take this opportunity once again to let you'll know that I greatly value our friendship and association and wish all of you and your loved ones - Happy Holidays and a Sparkling New Year 2021 - one that's built on Prosperity, Happiness and Strong Foundations.

Here's to Sweet New Beginnings....

Dr. Wasim Ghori
Consultant Diabetologist
Brand Ambassador - Education UK, British Council
Brand Ambassador - Association of Healthcare Management Professionals, AHMP, India
Director - Indian Economic Trade Organization, IETO

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