• TOPICS
KATHMANDU, JANUARY 30
Well, by profession I do not consider myself an expert capable of defining the term 'iatrogenic' in a watertight manner. However, working as a janitor in a hospital in Australia, I can say that iatrogenic risks can be a severe issue, which we can't afford to ignore due to their link to public health and safety. The term iatrogenic is derived from the Greek word "iatro", meaning a healer, and genic, meaning caused by. It is basically something that is caused by medical treatment or a diagnostic slip-up if you will.
The doctors may wrongly prescribe drugs and medicines to the patients, which may result in iatrogenic risks. In a country like ours, we get to hear of unusual deaths of patients who regularly visit doctors for the treatment of kidney ailments or of any other organ for that matter.
Iatrogenic risks have mounted during the coronavirus pandemic because of clinical or diagnostic errors on the part of the health workers. COVID-19 has permeated most of the patients' wards, and the virus might be present even in the hospital surroundings.
In Australia, I have had an opportunity to learn subtly about how hospitals are maintained during a pandemic. I have never heard of patients suffering from other diseases, who have been admitted to the hospital, being infected with COVID-19.
However, our country's hospitals cannot assure their patients that they would remain safe from the virus during their stay in the hospital. The chances of being infected with COVID-19 are not slim even whilst undergoing treatment in a hospital.
A few months ago, I was shocked while watching a television footage of a hospital where some people were placing their palms flat against the hand rails of the stairway while descending to the ground floor.
The people were apparently oblivious to the dangers of the virus being transported to a sensitive zone like a hospital.
Hospitals must install surveillance cameras and hire security guards to curb wayward activities of the people who are outside. For the most part, the administration's dereliction of duty is obvious in the public hospitals in our country, which is why the virus is not only troubling the lives of tens of thousands of people but sadly impinging on the entire human affairs by decimating lives and destroying the economy.
A hospital must be a safe place to visit. It cannot be a reservoir of viruses. The government must very cautiously lay plans for the safety of public hospitals, whether in the capital or elsewhere. The place where I work in Melbourne is unbelievably great when it comes to protecting public health. This may be the reason why Australia did not suffer much even in the first and second waves of COVID-19.
A version of this article appears in the print on January 31, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.
