Meet the doctor who has been serving diabetes patients during the pandemic
Dr Wasim Ghori has also been advocating how art can have a therapeutic effect on patients and speed up their healing
The COVID-19 pandemic and the ensuing lockdown saw all of us confined to the safety of our homes. However, every day, millions of frontline workers, including doctors, nurses, and medical staff, put their lives at risk to serve others. Among them was Dr M Wasim Ghori.
Dr Ghori, who serves as Medical Director and Consulting Diabetologist at a chain of specialty heart and diabetes clinics in Mumbai, helps people with Type 2 Diabetes, guiding them on how to self-manage their health to avoid long-term complications. He began ‘Healthcare on Your Fingertips’ - a patient education and awareness WhatsApp messaging initiative where bite-sized health nuggets get delivered to people every morning which they can access anytime and anywhere.
Dr Ghori has been advocating the power of art in healing. This is a painiting done by his wife Zubia Wasim
When the pandemic broke out, he decided to return to the frontlines to offer help where it was most needed. Dr. Ghori also volunteered on the frontline serving patients on dialysis and ensuring they got the best treatment.
“I leveraged my personal, professional, and social network and worked with other healthcare professionals, and helped the public and the government in formulating policies to tackle the challenges posed by COVID-19,” says Dr Ghori.
He also created awareness on the importance of physical distancing, hand washing, use of sanitisers, and face masks to prevent the spread of Covid-19 on radio talks, newspaper articles, and online sessions.
Art for healing
As part of ‘Quarantine Art Initiative’, he raised awareness on the virus through art created by his wife Zubia Ghori, an artist whose works were shortlisted in the 'United Against CORONA-Express Through Art' event organised by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) to express solidarity with people in their fight against the coronavirus pandemic.
Dr. Ghori says, “I have always believed in the power of visual art in tackling negativity and despair. At a time when there is constant negative news all around, I thought that people should create something positive and not just be passive listeners to the stories of doom.”
He says that Indian Healthcare is increasingly realising the role of art in healing. “It is an innovative concept that brings together visual arts, healthcare, and the healing potential of artistic interventions in medical care in India.
“By integrating the healing power of arts and medicine, I intend to make a meaningful contribution in the delivery of better health, well-being and improved experiences for patients, service users and staff alike within healthcare facilities in India and lead innovation in healthcare design, services, and spaces,” says Dr Ghori.
Holistic healing
In 2018, Dr Ghori collaborated with a US-based Healthcare Technology Company to set the stage for a new way to work with individuals who were at high risk of developing heart disease, hypertension, high blood cholesterol, and diabetes.
He says, “Primary prevention of diabetes is of paramount importance in both developed and in developing countries. The use of mobile technology to deliver education, treatment targets, advice, support, motivate and promote sustained lifestyle changes to prevent Type 2 Diabetes and its complications not only in India but other countries too holds the key in achieving this goal”.
“The growing epidemic of Type 2 Diabetes demands urgent and coordinated attention. Approaches aimed exclusively at individual behaviour changes in clinical settings will likely prove inadequate. On the other hand, improvements in policy and the environmental factors would predispose, enable and reinforce more healthy diets and more active lifestyles for widespread and sustained behavior changes.”
“Let us join hands to raise awareness of the impact that diabetes has on the family and to promote the role of the family and lifestyle modifications in the management, care, prevention and education of the condition,” says Dr Ghori.
For his continuing efforts in dispensing duties to the society and the country during the lockdown, Dr. Ghori was felicitated as a ‘Corona Warrior’ by the Governor of Maharashtra, Bhagat Singh Koshyari. He was also honored with the title ‘Most Distinguished Alumni from India’ during the COVID-19 pandemic by his alma mater, London South Bank University, UK, for positively impacting communities and helping patients and those affected during the Covid-19 Pandemic.