Colourful curtains and popular cartoon characters that adorn the walls of 27-bed Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) and a 24-bed High Dependency Unit (HDU) at the Sadar Hospital in Ranchi may offer much more than cosmetic appeal if the feared third wave hits Jharkhand, say doctors who have treated patients throughout the pandemic.
The child-friendly décor of the ICUs, according to doctors, may help in easing anxiety in children and aid secretion of endorphins, the feel-good hormone, which may improve the pace of recovery.
“Environment plays an important role in recovery of Covid patients as it affects their mood. Children suffering from the viral infection would be staying away from their parents during the treatment, so the ICUs have been given a makeover to ensure that the kids feel comfortable and stay distracted from the stress of being ill,” said Ranchi civil surgeon, Dr. Vinod Kumar.
Stress and fear trigger the secretion of cortisol, which often worsens the symptoms in Covid patients and may lead to prolonged illness, said Dr. Kumar, adding that children in particular are extremely sensitive to stress and the hospital administration was making all possible arrangements to ensure a positive atmosphere for the children.
It is feared that around 7 lakh of the 1.43 crore population in the age bracket of 0 to 18 years may get affected by Covid-19 in the third wave in Jharkhand. While 2.86 lakh of the patients are likely to be symptomatic, about 8,610 of them may show severe symptoms and need intensive care, the expert committee for tackling third wave of Covid-19 in Jharkhand has predicted on the basis of trends across the world and in India.
Government has directed each of the 24 districts in the state to set up at least a 20-bed special ICU for children to combat the third wave of the pandemic. An expert committee of doctors and health officials constituted by the government suggested setting up of at least 1000 ICU beds for children in the state. While 500 beds would be set up in government hospitals, the remaining 500 should come up in private facilities, the committee recommended.
So far, hospitals in Ranchi, East Singhbhum, Koderma, Hazaribag and Giridih have come up with child-friendly ICUs. Besides Sadar Hospital, Ranchi Children Hospital in the state capital also houses a child-friendly ICU with colourful and attractive interiors.
Dr. Ajit Kumar, who has been treating Covid patients at Sadar Hospital in Ranchi, admitted that a positive environment played an important role in healing and children may recover faster if they get positive vibes during their treatment.
“You may not find this theory in any of the medical books, but it has been seen that patients who are treated in a positive environment respond better to the treatment,” he said.
