At Greater Noida’s Covid hospitals, a family support system

Greater Noida: Nitin Kumar, his wife and two sons aged nine and four, residents of AWHO Gurjinder Vihar Sector Chi 5 Greater Noida, got themselves tested for Covid-19 at an antigen testing camp on the society campus on August 23. The results of the couple and their four-year-old returned positive.
While they were admitted to Sharda hospital on August 24, the couple were at their wit’s end about who would take care of their nine-year-old son. The hospital then provided a guest accommodation, free of cost, for the child on the Sharda University campus with a full-time attendant and a nurse to monitor his health.
Initially, the child found it difficult to adjust but then his father started video calling him. While his parents tested negative over the weekend, his mother decided to stay back with his younger brother and the nine-year-old will soon be reunited with his father.
For many families like Kumar’s, assistance of this kind from Sharda and other Covid hospitals has come as a boon. Offering them a huge relief, many medical facilities are lending Covid patients a helping hand if they have a minor or senior citizens needing care.
Ajit Kumar, spokesperson of Sharda University and hospital, said Kumar’s family was concerned about their 9-year-old son as there was no one to take care of him at home. “Our chancellor PK Gupta decided to provide an accommodation to the child with an attendant. He was given food and lodging free of cost and a nurse also kept a tab on his vitals.”
In another case, five members of a family from Sector 5 were admitted to Sharda hospital in Greater Noida on May 15 after testing positive, even as the elderly grandmother was left alone as she had tested negative. For the family’s easy access to the elderly, who was temporarily left in the neighbour’s care, the hospital shifted all the patients to Child PGI in Sector 30, which is just a 10-minute drive from Sector 5.
Kumar added, “The family was referred to Child PGI as they could be near their home. The elderly person also felt a sense of security as her family was near her and stayed in touch on video calls.”
Sources said that many times, children and senior citizens who have recovered are retained at the hospital for a longer duration as there is no one to take care of them at home. “There have been cases where a child or a senior citizen has tested negative after treatment. But they have been retained in the hospital on request of the family as the remaining members were still under treatment. Such people are kept in a separate isolation ward,” said a source from a Covid hospital.
Government Institute of Medical Sciences (GIMS) director, Brigadier Dr RK Gupta (retd), said on some occasions, Covid-negative mothers have been allowed to stay with their children who test positive. “We had a case in which we allowed the mother to stay in a separate area of the hospital when her minor son was undergoing treatment. She had to follow all protocols and was allowed to take care of him,” he said.
Dr Sunil Kumar, medical superintendent of Yatharth hospital, said, “We provide TV with cartoon channels and a play area with toys to keep the children engaged while mothers can stay in the isolation area,” he added.