From chips to dosas, to toys and games to razors and nail cutters … whatever the patients need, they have it.

Bengaluru, KARNATAKA :

Bengaluru :

From chips to dosas, to toys and games to razors and nail cutters … whatever the patients need, they have it. Because their wish is her command. And she gets them whatever they want with her own money. Yet, the patients don’t know who this angel is. Meet Dr Asima Banu, Nodal Officer of Trauma and Emergency Care Centre at Victoria Hospital which has now turned into a COVID-19 facility.

It is not easy for Dr Asima, who is in charge of the entire block, to meet all the requirements of the patients. Yet, she does with a smile. “It is very new and challenging for me. Not only do I have to check on the treatment but even look into what other things the patients want. As they stay until they are fully recovered, we need to keep them happy and satisfied,” she said. Dr Asima said when patients come for testing, they just come with a phone.

If they are symptomatic, they are moved to a quarantine unit until their results come. And once they test positive, they are directly sent to the designated hospital. “When they come here, naturally, they don’t bring clothes or other essentials. And once they test positive, their primary and secondary contacts are traced and are quarantined as well. So the patient has no way to get the necessary stuff for their daily use in the hospital. And they, in turn, ask us. And we have to provide them.”

“Some patients do not want to wear the hospital garments and want their own clothes. So in such cases, I call my family and ask them to send some clothes which are completely clean and some which are unused as well. I give it to the patients. Some need sandals. I check on the size and pass on the message to my family. My son looks for the size and get it for them,” she said. Five children who have tested positive for COVID are admitted here.

They demand games, cakes and chocolates. And Dr Asima has it delivered to them through Swiggy. “It does not matter if I spend for them. They just need to be happy,” she said. Dr Asima has never gone in front of the patients as it is mostly the nurses and doctors who are in the frontline. She has created a WhatsApp group with patients and they message her whatever they want. “They have never seen me, all they know is Dr Asima gives them what they want,” she said.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Good News / by Iffath Fathima / Express News Service / April 26th, 2020