Irfan Tramboo
SRINAGAR, Mar 22: When the earth abruptly shook last night, a doctor and her assistants were doing surgery on a pregnant woman at Sub-District Hospital (SDH), Bijbehara in Anantnag district. The earthquake, which caused alarm among people in various affected countries, failed to deter them from carrying on with what they were doing.
A video which showed the medical team continuing with the surgery despite tremors went viral on social media platforms immediately after the earthquake subsided and people were wanting to know the wellbeing of their loved ones. The public not only were in awe of their fortitude and bravery, but they also highlighted the dedication of the doctor and her aiding team, which was seen staying put. Click here to watch video
“The safety and priority of the patient kept us there as we did not want to abandon her and run for our safety; we had already cut her open and running away from that situation would have been bad. Even though we were afraid, we stayed put till it all subsided,” said Dr Shabeena Shah, the gynecologist, who was performing the surgery.
It was the third and the last LSCS surgery of the team for the day and they had thought that they would be back home once they were done with it. “We were doing the LSCS when the earthquake hit; but we kept our nerve and rather than panicking, we did our level best to perform,” she said.
While usually there is a response of running away for safety during such situations, the medical staff instead left it all to fate and focused on the procedure on the patient whose delivery was already high-risk
“It is all fate; whatever has to happen will happen; if the intensity would have been more, the situation could have been different, but we preferred to hold on,” she said.
Dr Shah credited it all to teamwork and said that without the presence and support of her team, the situation could have been different.
“It was entirely teamwork; at the same time, I managed to keep them there; kept telling them that we will get it done. Even the lights went out, but those who were not involved in the surgery opened the flashlights so that we could continue,” she added.
As she recalls the last night, Dr Shah said that keeping in view the high risk of the patient, they had already told the attendants of the patient that if they want they could refer her to M&CH Anantnag. “But they didn’t want to do that and asked us to go ahead. Maybe they stayed there, just to test us; maybe it was a test for all of us last night which passed off well,” she said.
On the official level, too, the team has been commended for their exceptional work. “Kudos to staff of SDH Bijbehara who conducted the LSCS smoothly & Thank God, everything is alright,” the official handle of the CMO Anantnag Tweeted along with the video.
Today, the Secretary H&ME Department Bhupinder Kumar also extended appreciation and best wishes to the Medical staff of SDH Bijbehara “for the act of courage and bravery.”
Meanwhile, on the direction of the H&ME Department, the Directorate of Health Services, Kashmir (DHSK) also felicitated the doctors involved in the surgery, as well as the assisting staff, for their act of bravery and prioritizing patient safety.
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