Duncan hospital Bihar struggles as India battles devastating wave of corona

As many of you will know The Mackay Clinic is a long-standing supporter and fundraiser for The Duncan Hospital in Bihar, India. And so it is with huge sadness that we have been watching with the world the terrible scenes emerging from India as the country is overwhelmed by another wave of coronavirus. In footage from New Delhi, repeated all over, bodies burn in endless funeral pyres and the capital chokes with smoke as the living try to tend to their dead. The official daily death toll reported in the press is thought to be wildly underestimated.

Hospitals all over the country have little or no oxygen supplies left and great numbers of staff are falling victim to the virus themselves. Many families are unable to find hospital beds for sick loved ones and are forced to take them home again. The Duncan is sadly not immune from this chaos as it is caught up in the grip of this latest surge.
In a communication from a few days ago, we hear that Hospital Director Prabhu has covid, though thankfully we were told that he is stable for the moment except for symptoms like myalgia and cough. However staff there have taken a major hit this time, leaving few behind who are not ill to treat the patients they have.

We were sent these heartbreaking words, “The situation here is really bad. In fact, it seems a thousand times worse than it was last year. Indians are absolutely unprepared to meet the situation. Only a very small percent received vaccines. Not enough hospitals, no beds, no medicines, no oxygen and even no doctors – anywhere. We hear death all around us. It’s scary to open the news.”

“Today we have a 15-year-old boy with epidural abscess leading to acute paraplegia. So he needed urgent spine surgery. No way we can refer him anywhere coz no hospitals will accept him in this crucial time. So Prabhu went and did surgery for three to four hours with all the PPE. Praying and hoping that the child would be able to walk again.”

“Please keep us in your prayers. That’s the best anyone can do for us now”

So please help us keep all at The Duncan in everyone’s thoughts. You can following updates and news from The Duncan on our charity fundraising website www.tdhct.co.uk