HYDERABAD: A 93-year-old woman who has recovered from novel coronavirus infection is stuck at the state-run Gandhi Hospital as her family is reluctant to take her back home till another round of tests confirms she is negative.
While authorities have declared her stable and medically fit for home quarantine now, the family says the hospital must carry out another round of tests and guarantee that she has fully recovered. The elderly woman was admitted to the hospital along with her son and two grandchildren after all of them tested positive for the virus.
While her son succumbed to the virus last week, the two grandchildren are now under home quarantine, and stable.
The Gandhi Hospital authorities initially asked the family to take her back in a day’s time on Monday but after another granddaughter of the elderly woman, who lives in the US, requested the hospital authorities to keep her for few more days, they agreed.
“Some of our contacts back in Hyderabad tried to look for hospitals to shift her, but they were very costly. She is stable, but the hospital has not conducted another round of tests on her and that makes it difficult to convince any relative to keep her,” the granddaughter told TOI over the telephone.
Kin wary of taking back patients
The hospital authorities have agreed to take care of her for some time after I made repeated requests,” she said.
Health authorities in Telangana do not test the recovered patients again, but ask them to be in home quarantine for another 14 days.
Authorities in Gandhi Hospital say they are facing issues with families reluctant to take back recovered patients.
Earlier this week, another 85-year-old man's family had refused to let him in unless the hospital shows his negative report.
“We discharge patients who are stable and medically fit for home quarantine, only after both family members and the patient mutually agree,” said a top health department official.
“In 6-7 cases, the family has refused to accept the patient, until they test negative,” the official added.
In cases where the family doesn’t have a separate room to keep the patient in quarantine, the government is making alternative arrangements.
“We have moved 62 such patients to the Nature Cure Hospital in Begumpet recently,” said Dr Prabhakar Rao, nodal officer for Covid-19 at Gandhi Hospital.
“We are making alternative arrangements for such patients and not sending them home, including those who do not want to go for a home quarantine on their own,” said Dr Rao added.
While authorities have declared her stable and medically fit for home quarantine now, the family says the hospital must carry out another round of tests and guarantee that she has fully recovered. The elderly woman was admitted to the hospital along with her son and two grandchildren after all of them tested positive for the virus.
While her son succumbed to the virus last week, the two grandchildren are now under home quarantine, and stable.
The Gandhi Hospital authorities initially asked the family to take her back in a day’s time on Monday but after another granddaughter of the elderly woman, who lives in the US, requested the hospital authorities to keep her for few more days, they agreed.
“Some of our contacts back in Hyderabad tried to look for hospitals to shift her, but they were very costly. She is stable, but the hospital has not conducted another round of tests on her and that makes it difficult to convince any relative to keep her,” the granddaughter told TOI over the telephone.
Kin wary of taking back patients
The hospital authorities have agreed to take care of her for some time after I made repeated requests,” she said.
Health authorities in Telangana do not test the recovered patients again, but ask them to be in home quarantine for another 14 days.
Authorities in Gandhi Hospital say they are facing issues with families reluctant to take back recovered patients.
Earlier this week, another 85-year-old man's family had refused to let him in unless the hospital shows his negative report.
“We discharge patients who are stable and medically fit for home quarantine, only after both family members and the patient mutually agree,” said a top health department official.
“In 6-7 cases, the family has refused to accept the patient, until they test negative,” the official added.
In cases where the family doesn’t have a separate room to keep the patient in quarantine, the government is making alternative arrangements.
“We have moved 62 such patients to the Nature Cure Hospital in Begumpet recently,” said Dr Prabhakar Rao, nodal officer for Covid-19 at Gandhi Hospital.
“We are making alternative arrangements for such patients and not sending them home, including those who do not want to go for a home quarantine on their own,” said Dr Rao added.
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