Asian doctor praises NHS for 'sense of belonging'

by LAUREN CODLING

AN NHS doctor has praised the health service for giving him a “sense of belonging”, as the beloved institution marks its 72nd birthday on Sunday (5).

Dr Mohan Bhat is the associate medical director and consultant old age psychiatrist for the Older Adults Mental Health Team & Memory Service at Broad Street Medical Centre in Dagenham, east London.

He has worked in the NHS for the past 15 years and has been working on the frontline since the coronavirus pandemic broke out earlier this year.

In an interview with Eastern Eye, the doctor spoke of what the health service meant to him and why it should be celebrated. “The NHS gives me a sense of belonging, that I am part of a statistic, working for one of the largest employers in the world, with people being represented from all over the world, different cultures, races and religions,” the Indian-origin doctor said.

On the anniversary of the health service, Dr Bhat said it should be honoured as it “meets the needs of the people who need it the most”.

“It is responsive, caring and can deliver on better health outcomes with the right guidance and policies in place,” said the doctor, who arrived in the UK in 1994, aged 26.

Dr Bhat has had a number of roles within his 15 years working in the  NHS, including as director of medical education for North East London NHS Foundation Trust (NELFT).

He said, “Some of my family members and NHS staff would not be alive today, if it was not for the NHS.”

During the coronavirus outbreak, the east-London based medic played an active part on the frontline. He worked as the consultant for a new Covid-19 inpatient unit in April and also helped set up the isolation ward for the NELFT.

Dr Bhat also looked after Covid-19 positive inpatients on the mental health inpatient ward at Goodmayes Hospital, Redbridge. He admitted it was a challenge, both from a personal and professional perspective.

“There was a fear of the unknown,” he admitted. “(There was a) fear of being exposed to the infection, the risk this posed to me and my family when I returned home and also providing clinical leadership to the ward team who were also sharing similar anxieties.”

However, he praised his management who he claimed ensured staff had regular visits from the infection control team who advised on the right use of the PPE.

Seeing Covid-19 patients recover was “inspiring”, he added, describing his work on the isolation ward as “rewarding”. However, as coronavirus cases across the country have dropped and lockdown measures have eased, Dr Bhat admitted that some NHS staff were going through “mixed emotions”.

There have been reports of increased anxieties among some NHS employees who have been working predominately at home during the crisis.

This fear is linked to the exposure to infection, increased usage of public transport and adapting to the newer ways of working incorporating PPE and social distancing rules and the challenge the lockdown is still causing on the home front.

For employees who have had concerns, Dr Bhat said that the NELFT had set up a number of support systems for those who were in need.

“We have regular webinars and are encouraged to support each other within teams and be alert to spot any staff who may need extra support,” he explained. “We are reminding ourselves of the patients who got better under our care.

“We are also sharing positive experiences from staff on how we rose to new challenges and how we adapted and had success in delivering our services in an altered format.”

Since the coronavirus outbreak began, it has been reported that BAME groups are at higher risk of infection. Some experts have called for BAME health workers dealing with the coronavirus crisis to be removed from high-risk areas due to the disproportionate amount of deaths. Analysis has shown 60 per cent of all NHS workers who have died with coronavirus are members of ethnic minority groups.

Working on the frontline, Dr Bhat admitted he was “very sensitive” to the findings and curious to understand any factors which may have put him at an increased risk.

“However, I also understand the practicality of excluding all the BAME staff from frontline duties,” he said. “I relied on the risk assessments that were advised for the staff to complete to identify any particular risks.”

He added: “My feeling is that this needs to be considered on individual basis and reasonable adjustments to be made for the staff to feel safe in the job that they are doing.”