Fighting the COVID-19 pandemic: An ophthalmologist's experience in an intensive care unit at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences

Strengthening the ICUs' human resource‐related responses to Covid‐19: A rapid review of the experience during the first year of public health emergency

“…Another 51% of the articles specified the name and/or the type of health organisations they were focussed on. 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 23 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 43 , 45 , 46 , 47 , 48 , 49 , 53 , 54 , 55 , 56 , 57 , 59 , 60 , 61 , 62 , 63 , 64 , 66 All of the remaining studies did not specify a health organization of focus or concentrated on groups of respondents within health organisations.…”

“…For example, the All India Institute of Medical Sciences trained and deployed 25% of their resident doctors from each department to take care of critical Covid‐19 patients. 63 The analysis helped to reveal specific categories of physicians, nurses, and other health personnel who were mobilised to support the ICUs (see Table 3 ).…”

“…It was observed that the success of temporarily redeploying staff to ICUs in roles outside their SOP is not yet supported by high‐quality evidence, 78 and that mobilised staff should not be expected to work outside their professional SOP independently unless they have been assessed as competent. 69 In general, several authors recommended providing training for redeployed staff, especially to those who do not usually practice within hospital or ICU settings, 17 , 19 , 21 , 25 , 35 , 38 , 40 , 42 , 44 , 46 , 53 , 54 , 55 , 56 , 57 , 59 , 61 , 62 , 63 , 64 , 66 , 69 , 73 , 77 , 78 , 82 pairing them with core ICU staff (e.g., 17 , 19 , 30 ), or making the core staff act as ‘coaches’ 19 , 55 to help with the acclimatization of redeployed staff. Though the articles did not specify whether or how such practices were formalised.…”

“…These approaches included introducing flexible rostering or shortening the length of the shift to lessen potential fatigue. For example, several ICUs have introduced a four‐shifts‐a‐day system with teams handing over every 6 hours (e.g., 36 , 60 , 63 ).…”

“…The majority of studies analysed proved that throughout the pandemic, ICU workforce capabilities have been overwhelmed, making it necessary to draw the workforce (with and without critical care experience) from various departments and divisions that suspended their elective procedures or non‐essential services. For example, the All India Institute of Medical Sciences trained and deployed 25% of their resident doctors from each department to take care of critical Covid‐19 patients 63 . The analysis helped to reveal specific categories of physicians, nurses, and other health personnel who were mobilised to support the ICUs (see Table 3).…”