Driven from Covid wards, attendants now crowd hosp premises

Driven from Covid wards, attendants now crowd hosp premises

A Prathap & Komal Gautham TNN

Chennai:04.06.2021

Despite the directorate of public health’s order banning relatives of Covid patients from wards, these attendants remain a problem at government hospitals in the city.

On Thursday, there were at least 50 attendants of covid positive patients crowding the exit gate at Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital (RGGGH) in Chennai. They insisted that they should be allowed to enter the wards to tend to their relatives.

Hospital dean E Theranirajan told TOI that ever since the order was issued, the hospital has ensured that attendants aren’t allowed in wards. “We also sought help from the city police to manage them. We appointed 60 volunteers. But attendants insist on helping patients themselves,” he said.

Around noon on Thursday, a TOI photographer witnessed a huge crowd at the out gate and several autos waiting alongside. These auto drivers and attendants are nothing but super spreaders, said health experts, adding that since they don’t wear PPE or N95 masks, they expose themselves to high viral load.

In May, TOI reported on hospitals in Chennai, Chengalpet, Ramanathapuram and Coimbatore mandating attendants for patients due to staff shortage. Vijayageetha, whose father was admitted to a Coimbatore hospital, said she had to call the nurse every time his saturation fell. “They don’t watch the patients closely as there are many critical patients. Almost everyone here needs ICU but it is not available and if we don’t stay with the patient, we are sure they will not be cared for properly. The situation is terrible,” she said. An attendant at RGGGH told TOI that though they were sent away, attendants of patients on ventilators were asked to stay close to the ward. “The nurses told us to stay as they are unable to even take toilet breaks,” an attendant said.

Director of public health T S Selvavinayagam told TOI that the state has ensured that no relative goes into the ward. “We cannot allow that as they will be exposed to high viral load and they will expose others as well when they travel. If they crowd outside the hospital, we need to ask the police to intervene,” he said.

POTENTIAL SUPER SPREADERS: Relatives of patients crowded the exit gate of Rajiv Gandhi hospital on Thursday