Anesthesiologists’ general definition restricts their function to the administration of doses of anesthesia — to make people lose consciousness so they don’t experience pain during surgery — but the actual work these doctors do is far broader. Anesthesiologists’ work starts on normal days when the patient is admitted to the hospital and finishes only after they have recovered fully. Throughout the surgical cycle, they often play a crucial role — keeping an eye on the fluctuation of vital parameters such as blood pressure, oxygen saturation, urine production and respiration rate, apart from ensuring that the operation remains painless. But anesthesiologists in India’s COVID battle have expanded their role from above as admissions to ICUs and cases on ventilators go up.
Anesthesiologists are working tirelessly along other doctors in operation theaters during surgeries, emergencies and routine procedures. They help in inserting intravenous injection lines, inserting food pipes, incubating ventilators and managing extremely critical cases.They also put patients to sleep during the surgery, and ensure that they wake up well. They also assess which patients need to be transferred to ICU, and during surgeries, emergencies and regular procedures operate in operation theaters. In addition, their function is crucial among patients on the verge of losing their life while performing CPR.
The anesthesiologists in India’s COVID battle are overburdened like other doctors due to the continuous increase in the COVID-19 cases. They are continuously under the risk of infecting themselves and their families. Also they have managed the mental health challenges, social stigma, and work at the forefront even though they are underpaid. Anesthesiologists especially in India are feeling the immense pressure and load to handle bulk of COVID-19 patients because India is nearly short of 1.5 lakh anesthesiologists. There are only 55,000 anesthesiologists working in the country along with internal medicine specialists and chest physicians. The government is now seeking an even greater presence of anesthetists in the COVID crisis.
