BHOPAL: Lack of information on hospitalised Covid-19 patients’ health status has given many relatives and loved ones sleepless nights. Unlike other ailments, visiting those suffering from the virus is not permitted.
The protocol on sharing of regular information on the health status of a Covid-19 infected person is still a grey area. Some activists are demanding more transparency in the process. As per the Medical Council of India rule (section 1.3), request for medical records by the patient or authorised attendant should be acknowledged and documents issued. That is not happening in case of Covid-19, given the fact that medical records could be carriers of the virus.
“Covid-19 patient medical records are being organised and kept in a secure manner. They would be disinfected in due course and made available,” said a senior AIIMS-Bhopal official.
“Is it obligatory for hospitals to provide information on the patient. There is no set protocol. Patients’ relatives are often unaware of the condition of the patient,” said an attendee of a Covid-19 patient in a Bhopal hospital. The patient’s blood sugar had escalated to dangerous levels and the attendee had to run pillar to post to bring it to the attention of the staff. This was a case when the patient had a mobile phone.
The device is only permitted for patients with mild infection.
More critical patients in Covid-19 ICU are not permitted mobile phones, for good reason. Furthermore, a patient in the ICU can seldom communicate without assistance. Many of the ICUs have poor reception, given their location and negative static conditions.
“My brother died in the ICU. All we were told is that he is critical and there is a 50% chance of survival. The hopsital’s reception phone number does not entertain calls. The doctor on duty would receive calls on his own will. We cannot blame them too. There is no mechanism for communication,” said a Kolar resident. His brother died on the sixth day of admission after testing positive for Covid-19.
During the lockdown, some experts in Gandhi Medical College (GMC) had noted the communication problem of Covid-19 patients. Sensitive towards patients and their relatives, a tender was issued for purchase of mobile tablets to be used in the ICU. The device camera and mic would have given limited access to patients to communicate with their relatives. However, the devices were not available during the lockdown. Since then, the file has been stuck in red tape.
At AIIMS-Bhopal, doctors have added patients’ relatives on social networking sites to provide limited information on a patient’s condition. In Chirayu medical college, the staff and even the director provide information. However, the government has not set up any mechanism for the hospitals in this regard.