COVID 19 pandemic has brought the world together to fight against it .Each and every sector whether entrepreneurship or healthcare or politics or research is concerned. COVID 19 pandemic has given a different and new perspective on healthcare .The world is looking forward to the healthcare sector not only for a solution to the pandemic but also for the treatment, safety, prevention, protection from the hazards. It has become necessary and responsible for the world healthcare sector to recognize the need to coordinate and collaborate to fight against the pandemic and come to a mutual understanding to safeguard the world from this pandemic. It has become a need of the hour to recognize the transferrable health services across nations and implement them.
Hospitals and other healthcare systems are already under tremendous stress during this hard time but at the same time, it is important to recognize that prompt measures that are to be taken to mitigate and contain this pandemic should be started at the grassroots level. The measures should be able to identify and quarantine cases early, should reduce the burden at the hospital level, overcome communication barriers, and also eliminate education barriers while safeguarding both the patients and the healthcare workers. COVID 19 pandemic has spread rapidly across continents challenging the healthcare system and its ability to diagnose, prevent, and treat the pathogen and ensure the safety of the patients and healthcare professionals.
The Healthcare System and the health workers are always the frontlines of any pandemic situation and they are the first to be exposed to hazards that result in infections with the causative agent. Pathogen exposure, psychological distress, long working hours, occupational burnout, and physical violence are some of the hazards faced by healthcare workers. It is the responsibility of healthcare workers and managers to ensure all the essential protective and preventive measures are been taken to minimize the hazards. It is also necessary to ensure that adequate PPE supplies are there in sufficient quantity to all the healthcare staff. Every healthcare professional has to ensure that they follow all the established safety guidelines and protocols to keep themselves safe of hazards. Healthcare professionals not only have to take adequate measures for patient safety but also have to ensure their safety.
The Healthcare system also focuses on bringing an effective and efficient testing system such as antibody testing and CLIA (chemiluminescence immunoassay) technology with high output and accuracy. A proper diagnostic system also provides a tool for the management of COVID 19 Soon. Diagnostic tools by healthcare professionals help people to gain confidence and faith that they can fight the pandemic situation as there are efficient tests available to healthcare professionals, eligible patients, and the entire population. Diagnostics also plays an important role in deciding the clinical intervention needed for a particular patient and it also gives the power of knowing the actual base of clinical intervention.
India needs to fight with this pandemic in a better way by coordinating with healthcare staff to ensure the livelihood and safety of people. The Indian government is already working on a 3S plan for the healthcare system. The first S defined as building skills in the healthcare sector, the main emphasis on recent diagnostic tools and technologies. The second S stands for structure, which is a key area that determines the capacity to fight such pandemic .with such a vast area of land, we are inefficient in creating space for healthcare infrastructure for specialized treatments and that stands a big problem in the time of such pandemics .the third S stands for the size that is capacity. It’s the biggest problem for India and still, different healthcare organizations are finding a solution to this problem. The government and private healthcare sector should come together to establish effective plans that would help to protect people and thus the economy of the country in these uncertain times.
The COVID 19 pandemic has drastically impacted the global healthcare system and generated chaos with both short and long term repercussions. WHO has an important and planned role to play in global health but it seems to be inefficient this time. The main two reasons for the failure of WHO is its poor disease surveillance and its response to the condition and coordination. WHO assumed that only poor countries with improper sanitation will be affected by infectious diseases. People believe that coronavirus is the worlds’ future and improving healthcare, infrastructure investment, and surveillance of disease, educating people on the disease are few measures that would help to cope up with the pandemic better. Healthcare plans and policies should be reformed with more transparency and accountability. The six challenges for the global healthcare system highlighted in a report by the Institute of Medicine are- harnessing creativity, resources, and energy; collaboration and coordination; leadership; funding; accountability, monitoring, enforcement and transparency; and basic survival needs. World Bank suggests adopting a “one health” approach to fight against the infection and diminishing its risk.
The COVID-19 pandemic is draining worldwide health systems. The rapid increase in demand for health facilities and workers has portended the healthcare system and made it overstretched and also is a reason as to why healthcare systems are unable to function properly and effectively. Some of the major steps that should be implemented to operate efficiently not only in the current situation but also in the coming future include –making fast track plans to follow the implementation of the main targets for health emergencies within NDMP; proper education and awareness of hygiene and sanitation at the community level; elimination gaps in treatments and care of a patient of other chronic diseases as it could burden healthcare system in long term; improving government health sector infrastructure and investing more in healthcare policies; focussing more on medical equipment and diagnosis tools and technology; and increasing the use of telemedicine, technology, and mobile hospitals.
COVID 19 pandemic has infected around 4.64 million people and claimed around 312,000 lives in just four to five months. Coronavirus has not spared Latin America, which was luckily spared during World War 1 and World War 2. The world war ended up taking around 20 million lives. While World War 2 claimed over 60 million lives. The situation of coronavirus pandemic is worse and is also creating a world war 3 conflict. It has already infected around 5 million people and claimed 312,000 lives. The enemy in this pandemic is invisible, unlike the first two world wars. The pandemic has demonstrated how a virus can be a mass destruction weapon and its destructive potential. The virus outbreak has added a new dimension towards global dominance and has created a chain of events of the strategic global dominance. World wars before used to have military forces and a bold declaration of war as basic essentiality. The main aim of world wars was to conquer the territory but it is all different in the case of coronavirus pandemic. Here, it has economic collapse and political collapse as the main targets and aims.
COVID 19 made a wild entry in undeclared third world war. It has impacted the world exposing the vulnerabilities of the US. It has also led to a huge trust issue with china globally. Coronavirus pandemic has given a new dimension to wars and further out-dated the idea of following and accepting one /two countries as a leader and superpower. It has also evolved the idea that all countries won’t be a part of future world wars as they may not agree to a common key player. Countries would be engaged in different kinds of war such as some would opt for hot wars, some military wars, and some with new tools and technology and some with new weapons and instruments. The pandemic may also result in conflict and cross-border tension as it would be a struggle to decide the correct movement to people and goods across borders.
The global healthcare system is critical to the approaches that should be taken, the skills needed to face such pandemic, the use of resources, and agreement on the achievement target.
Name of Author: Shweta Mittal, OPF Trainee Intern
