Team of Indian doctors sets up makeshift hospitals to treat thousands of COVID-19 patients for free
At a time when the number of COVID-19 positive patients are increasing by the day in India, it is doctors like Dr Ravikant Singh who are working tirelessly and selflessly to ensure badly affected patients get the treatment they need in a quick and efficient manner. Right from inquiring about the health of one of his team member catching the virus to getting a signature from a government official to procure more PPE kits, Dr Ravikant has been working non-stop since the past few months now.
He and his organisation, ‘Doctors For You’ (DFY), has built makeshift centers to treat COVID-19 patients in 12 states to provide free treatment. It has been six months since he has been juggling between setting up makeshift centers along with the various state governments and managing his team of over 500 frontline health workers across India.
“Every disaster severely cripples the economy and uproots thousands of lives. The rehabilitation process takes weeks and sometimes months. I saw this during the deluge of Mumbai when I was a medical student at KEM hospital. The local administration is always in dire need of medical staff. As a doctor, it is my duty to save lives outside my antiseptic wards also and with this idea, DFY was born. I have never seen anything like this pandemic before and we thought our expertise in disaster operations could be useful. The COVID-19 vaccine is far away but until then we need enough hospital beds,” Dr Ravikant tells The Better India.
Dr Ravikant says DFY is presently managing nearly 2000 beds that come with oxygen cylinders, ventilators, toilets, waste incinerators, doctors and nurses. Each person works in 6-hour shifts and 15 medical personnel are kept as a backup in every center.
Doctors, nurses, ambulance drivers and paramedics are hired on contract basis for a minimum period of three months and they also welcome volunteers. All their hired staff is below 35 years of age as they are less prone to the virus.