The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in scenes of violence against doctors, as angered families take out their rage on the country’s beleaguered medicos. Prefacing a BBC News report is the story of Dr Seuj Kumar Senapati who bluntly expresses his fears that he would be killed. As the report summarises, Dr Senapati attended a patient […]
Healthcare
Hospitals and staff overwhelmed amid COVID-19 surge
A view of a hospital ward in Assam in response to the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic Image credit: AnjanBorah, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons The initial wave of COVID-19 in India had already pushed hospitals to breaking point. The second wave has seen both daily cases and death counts triple, with many now dying […]
Healthcare gains from meeting Paris Agreement uncovered for India and other major nations
![By U.S. Department of State from United States [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons](https://healthissuesindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Secretary_Kerry_Addresses_Delegates_Before_Signing_the_COP21_Climate_Change_Agreement_on_Earth_Day_in_New_York_26514585581-150x150.jpg "Exclusive interview: Sir Andy Haines on climate change, a global health challenge")
Millions of lives could be saved by adopting policies in line with the targets of the Paris Agreement goals and prioritising health. This is according to new research published in The Lancet Planetary Health, from the Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change. The adoption of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) aimed at limiting warming to […]
How medtech looks going forward: An interview with Pavan Choudary
Medtech is a staple of healthcare systems the world over, vital in the management of a plethora of health issues. Last year, to explore this subject, Health Issues India interviewed Medical Technology Association of India chairperson, Vygon Indian managing director, and writer Pavan Choudary. At that time, Choudary and I discussed the importance of medical […]
Nursing: Healthcare’s front line
The pandemic of coronavirus has highlighted to health systems the world over why health systems are important – and emphasised in particular the vital role of nursing on the front line. It is fitting, therefore, that 2020 marks the International Year of the Nurse and the Midwife. The World Health Organization (WHO) unveiled earlier this […]
PPE shortages in India lessening
The Union Government has sought to assure healthcare workers that personal protective equipment (PPE) shortages in the country are easing off. The arrivals of ordered imports and continued efforts to procure the much-needed supplies domestically are underway to guarantee staff safety. “Along with domestic supplies of 20,000 coveralls, a total of 1.9 lakh (190,000) coveralls […]
World Health Day in a time of crisis
Today marks World Health Day – an observance the world marks this year in the context of the global pandemic of coronavirus. Cases of COVID-19 – the disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) or coronavirus – are rising sharply globally. India has reported thousands of infections and well in excess of […]
PPE kits dispatched to hospitals, more ordered
The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has announced provisions for the distribution of personal protective equipment (PPE) kits to the nation’s healthcare providers amidst the COVID-19 (coronavirus) outbreak. Already, 60,000 PPE kits have been procured by the Union Health Ministry for hospitals so healthcare workers can safeguard themselves against COVID-19. 3.34 lakh PPEs […]
Health workers face a massive struggle
During the Janata Curfew, throngs of Indians broke out in applause and other displays of gratitude in a mass felicitation of the country’s health workers manning the front line of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country. However, for many doctors, nurses, and other healthcare personnel, the reality of the pandemic is grim. Numerous reports have […]
Janata Curfew sees health workers praised
The Janata Curfew which saw millions of Indians nationwide self-quarantine for fourteen hours led to an outpouring of thanks for the country’s health workers. The mass felicitation witnessed Indians across the nation who heeded Modi’s call for the Janata curfew to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic to applaud and ring bells in honour of the healthcare […]