18 months of the simultaneous fight against cancer and COVID-19 by MAHAK’s doctors

A congratulatory message from the Medical Deputy to MAHAK CEO on the occasion of Doctor’s Day:

18 months of the simultaneous fight against cancer and COVID-19 by MAHAK’s doctors

These days, physicians and medical staff across the country fight COVID-19 with all their might. At the same time, the fight against cancer has been accompanied by the difficulties of the Coronavirus outbreak, which has made the road more difficult. During the last eighteen months, MAHAK’s physicians have battled two serious diseases, cancer and COVID-19; therefore doubling of efforts was brought to bear in order to achieve health.

They work with indefatigable energy and their only goal is to bring children with cancer to the peak of health. For this reason, on National Doctor’s Day, we had an interview with Dr. Alireza Daneshgari, the medical deputy to the CEO of MAHAK. While congratulating all the doctors on this day, he began the interview by presenting statistics on the number of MAHAK’s medical staff who have been infected by COVID-19 so far.

First of all, we want to know how many doctors and members of MAHAK’s medical staff have been infected by COVID-19 from the time of the outbreak of the virus to August 2021?

For the past 18 months, 8 physicians and 72 of MAHAK’s staff, including nurses, patient care assistants, laboratory assistants, colleagues in radiology, nuclear medicine and physiotherapy, have been diagnosed with COVID-19. The good news is that they have all overcome the disease.

What measures has MAHAK Hospital taken to prevent the virus from spreading to children with cancer?

Numerous measures have been taken into account during the past 18 months, and they will continue until the end of the pandemic. Checking for symptoms of the staff and all who enter the hospital and obligation to follow all health protocols are two primary measures. Mandatory temporary leave with allowed medical leave and or days off when staff develop the first symptoms of COVID-19 are among the measures implemented Moreover, increasing dedicated transportation services, closing the dining hall to prevent congregation, continuous disinfection of the work environment, significant reduction of unnecessary referrals to the hospital, and transferring the administrative departments of MAHAK to the adjacent building comprise some of the additional steps undertaken by MAHAK.

As doctors and medical staff are at the forefront of the fight against COVID-19, their additional commitment to patients while having to work in extra shifts are worthy of our praise and gratitude. In return, we have tried schedule some time offs for them when possible.

Apart from the medical staff, what percentage of children with cancer at MAHAK Hospital has been diagnosed with COVID-19?

Due to diligent checks and observance of protocols with high accuracy, the results of the PCR tests of only 29 patients in the hospital have returned positive.

How do children receive treatment after they get the disease?

If a child develops COVID-19, they will often be treated at MAHAK Hospital based on the severity of their symptoms. Some patients continue treatment on an outpatient basis, and some who have severe conditions need to continue treatment at other hospitals cooperating with MAHAK.