Covid Stress: Doctor Dies By Suicide

We are in awe of the courage of healthcare workers across the nation, fighting for patients and often risking their lives in these challenging times. Unfortunately, a doctor from Delhi, Dr Vivek Rai has died by suicide after he went through severe stress amid the deadly second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The 35-year-old Dr Rai hanged himself at his residence, who was working for Max Hospital Saket in Delhi. He was a student of DNB (Diplomate of National Board). The former chief of a top medical body Dr Ravi Wankhedkar tweeted –  “He was a very brilliant doctor from Gorakhpur (in Uttar Pradesh) and helped to save hundreds of lives during the pandemic”.

For the past couple of months, Dr Vivek Rai had been looking after Covid patients without a break and he was dealing with seven to eight critical patients every day, as per Dr Wankhedkar. It is believed that the doctor had developed depression after witnessed innumerable deaths in his hands.

“Due to this frustrating situation, he was into, he took such a difficult decision of ending his own life than living with the suffering and emotions of the people who died on his watch,” Dr Wankhedkar said. Dr Vivek Rai is survived by his wife, who is two-month pregnant. The doctor was recently married and said to have kept his sanity all these days for the sake of his family. 

The ex-IMA President tweeted “This brings into focus the tremendous emotional strain while managing Covid crisis. This death of a young doctor is nothing short of murder by the ‘system’ which has created frustrations with a shortage of basic healthcare facilities. Bad science, bad politics and bad governance”.

According to the cops, the doctor also left a suicide note and the body has been taken to AIIMS for a post-mortem. It is now a fact that treating covid-19 is not just physical but emotional labour as well and it is indeed sad to learn what Dr Rai had gone through. However, netizens argued on social media that it was not a suicide but a murder by the system.