July 2020 - Ballito Umhlanga
Conscious living. Thinking before you speak. Acting with intention. Placing careful thought into the things you do, eat and buy. This month we turn our attention to the art of being mindful. From making small changes like 'meat-free-Mondays' and choosing low or no-alcohol drinks, to listening to positive podcasts that encourage kindness (to yourself and others) and taking time out to care for your body, mind and soul … we are embracing all that is good and healthy.
Conscious living. Thinking before you speak. Acting with intention. Placing careful thought into the things you do, eat and buy. This month we turn our attention to the art of being mindful. From making small changes like 'meat-free-Mondays' and choosing low or no-alcohol drinks, to listening to positive podcasts that encourage kindness (to yourself and others) and taking time out to care for your body, mind and soul … we are embracing all that is good and healthy.
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Specialist pulmonologist and<br />
physician Dr Leon Naidoo<br />
SPECIALIST<br />
PULMONOLOGIST<br />
DR LEON NAIDOO<br />
With private practices at both the<br />
Netcare Alberlito and Mediclinic<br />
Victoria Hospitals, Dr Leon<br />
Naidoo is also the only specialist<br />
pulmonologist/critical care physician<br />
on the North Coast and currently the<br />
lead physician for the joint operational<br />
committee for Covid-19 at the abovementioned<br />
hospitals. He is also part of<br />
the rapid response team for Covid-19<br />
in KZN. “As a specialist physician, I am<br />
trained to diagnose, treat and follow<br />
up a wide array of clinical illnesses in<br />
every field of medicine. My expertise<br />
extends to a sub or super-speciality,<br />
viz Pulmonology and Critical Care<br />
medicine. This means that I was<br />
trained to be an expert in illnesses<br />
affecting the entire respiratory system.”<br />
Diseases commonly evaluated and<br />
treated by pulmonologists include<br />
asthma, chronic obstructive lung<br />
disease (COPD/emphysema), lung<br />
cancer, interstitial and occupational<br />
lung diseases, complex lung<br />
and pleural infections including<br />
tuberculosis, pulmonary hypertension,<br />
and cystic fibrosis<br />
Tell us a bit about your role as<br />
a primary specialist involved in<br />
COVID-19 cases? My role as a primary<br />
specialist for COVID-19 begins with<br />
firstly diagnosing a positive case,<br />
assessing the severity of the illness<br />
and then rapidly implementing the<br />
best management plan. We use<br />
local and international guidelines<br />
to assess patients as having mild,<br />
moderate or severe disease. The<br />
mild or asymptomatic cases are<br />
quarantined at home (or now<br />
available government facilities) with<br />
no specific treatment, and asked to<br />
contact their doctors should they feel<br />
worse. The moderate to severe cases<br />
are where the situation becomes<br />
extremely challenging. These are the<br />
patients that we have to decide on<br />
conservative management versus<br />
life support/mechanical ventilation.<br />
As you may well know, to date there<br />
is NO specific treatment or vaccine<br />
for the disease. We hear in the media<br />
about breakthrough drugs that cure<br />
patients; but currently there is no<br />
medication that works universally or<br />
is guaranteed to clear the disease. The<br />
management of the severe cases is<br />
a gargantuan task; involving medical<br />
expertise, bravery and a lot of faith.<br />
How you are coping on both a<br />
professional and personal level in<br />
the midst of this pandemic?<br />
On a professional level, the changes<br />
that have occurred at the various<br />
facilities regarding screening,<br />
admitting practices, theatre,<br />
isolation, etc have changed the<br />
way we practice medicine. We have<br />
had to adapt to this new ‘normal’.<br />
Health care professionals all have<br />
to wear PPE (Personal Protective<br />
Equipment) when reviewing every<br />
patient. There are different levels of<br />
PPE depending on the risk of patient<br />
we see. Hand hygiene and masks are<br />
the very bare essentials nowadays.<br />
I can honestly say that I have never<br />
had so many showers per day in<br />
my life. Of course, the economic<br />
ramifications that we have all had<br />
to face during the pandemic, and<br />
particularly the lockdown period has<br />
reached almost every health care<br />
professional as well. We have seen a<br />
significant drop in patient numbers,<br />
both as outpatients and inpatients<br />
and many practices have had to<br />
temporarily shut down as staff<br />
cannot be paid. From a personal<br />
standpoint, the sheer mammoth<br />
task of comprehending a global<br />
respiratory pandemic; and knowing<br />
that as a respiratory specialist<br />
you will be at the forefront and<br />
responsible for so many more lives, is<br />
massively daunting to say the least.<br />
With such limited resources, how<br />
do you weigh the worth of one life<br />
versus another? How do you decide<br />
who gets a ventilator and who does<br />
not? The most difficult personal<br />
issue though is, ‘how do I adequately<br />
treat my patients, yet not infect<br />
my family when I get home?’ I still<br />
remove my clothing outdoors and<br />
disinfect before I run into a shower,<br />
before my child can see me. There<br />
are days that I cannot go home at<br />
all due to the exposure I have had at<br />
the hospital. This is our new ‘normal’<br />
and puts a massive strain on our<br />
personal lives.<br />
(Dr Naidoo shares common<br />
misconceptions about COVID-19.<br />
Read his comprehensive list on<br />
our website.)<br />
CLICK HERE<br />
14 Get It • <strong>Ballito</strong> <strong>Umhlanga</strong> <strong>July</strong> <strong>2020</strong>
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