MIND MATTERS MOST WHEN PANDEMIC STRIKES

Surat: After being admitted to SMIMER Hospital, 68-year-old Maya Patel kept crying inconsolably, refused to eat anything and remained sleepless. Without actually dialling the number, she kept calling her husband several times a day, asking him to take her home immediately. Psychiatric intervention revealed that she couldn’t take the trauma of sudden separation from family. Along with counselling and medicines, doctors made a special provision to allow her husband and daughter to meet her by wearing PPE kits.
Maya is just one of 2,300 Covid-19 patients who were exhaustively screened in a study which has revealed the deep psychological impact that the pandemic has left on their minds. Insomnia, deliriums, anxiety attacks, phobia and severe behavioural issues were some of the common problems that these patients are facing.
The study was carried out at SMIMER Hospital, which has been dedicated for Covid-19 .
“Patients are besieged by several fears including that of getting stigmatized, sudden isolation and spreading the infection to their loved ones,” ' Dr. Parag Shah, professor and head, Department of Psychiatry, SMIMER, told TOI.
Sarita Panchal, 48, is another such case. She started hallucinating, attacked a nurse and threw away all medicines; adamant that she be allowed to go home. She reported hearing bhajans (in absence of any source). “Ultimately, we found that she used to remove the oxygen mask and as a result started having deliriums as oxygen supply to the brain reduced. She was immediately intubated and next morning she was fine,” Dr Shah said.
Dr Falguni Chaudhari, associate professor at the psychiatry department, said, “The very thought of getting infected and fear of possible dreaded consequences is severe in the elderly even with mild symptoms at the time of admission. Parting with the family at the time of admission is looked upon as their last meeting by the patient, as well as the family.”
“Generating hope, trust and optimism is the most challenging yet important task for all healthcare workers,” added Dr Nidhi Doshi, assistant professor at the department.
SMIMER has initiated ‘mass calling’ activity once in a day in which the treating doctor, after examining the patient, right from the patient’s bed, calls the family to discuss their health.