Shirva-born physician treats patients at Abu Dhabi’s COVID-19 hospital

Team Udayavani, Jul 31, 2020, 1:29 PM IST

The responsibility of nursing COVID-19 patients has been very stressful and conflicting. Self-protection is the most challenging part of the job during the treatment of patients in the emergency ward. But patients who come severe anxiety and return to their homes happy makes me feel worthy. This is what physician Dr Poornima Hegde says.

Dr Hegde is a native of Shirva in Kaup taluk, Udupi district. She is treating COVID-19 patients at the Sheikh Khalifa Medical City’s COVID-19 Hospital in Abu Dhabi.

She is the daughter of Bhujanga Shetty and Prema Shetty, Katapadi. She did her MBBs at Solapur and later was in Britain for four years where she received a fellowship in anaesthesia.

After working as an anesthesiologist for 12 years in Riyadh, Dr Hegde has been working at Abu Dhabi since the past 11 years.

The death of a hospital patient drowns the mood, but the emotional support of my husband Mahesh Hegde, children Nimith and Krismita, along with my medical experience had made me resilient, says she.

Dr Hegde’s sister is a pathologist at the Government Hospital in Mumbai.

The United Arab Emirates has done good work in containing the COVID-19 pandemic. The result of which is that our hospital in Abu Dhabi is now COVID-19 free. A large number of people from coastal Karnataka used to come here for treatment, says Dr Hegde.