HYDERABAD: A 77-year-old Covid-19 patient jumped from the second floor of a private hospital in Hyderabad, the third such suicide in recent months.
Police said K Narayana jumped from KIMS hospital in Kondapur around 9.50 am when the nursing staff was getting ready for his daily medication. Hospital said that Narayana had consulted them earlier for depression and was admitted on January 13 after testing positive.
Narayana, a trader from Vemulavada lived in Kondapur along with his two sons.
“Hospital staff rushed him to the emergency ward to resurrect but in vain. The body was handed over to the family as per GHMC protocol for final rites,” read an official statement from the hospital.
Several similar suicide attempts have been foiled at the state-run Gandhi hospital where all Covid-19 positive patients were lodged during the initial months of the pandemic.
On August 11, a 60-year-old male patient hanged himself in the bathroom of another corporate hospital in the city. Experts say Covid-19 has triggered depression and anxiety in many patients and has worsened in patients already suffering from depression.
While about 50% of post-Covid patients have moderate to severe psychological symptoms, even three months after recovery psychiatrists at the state-run Gandhi hospital say that a marked increase in substance abuse has also been seen among such patients, primarily to cope with the stress of having tested positive.
“A diagnosis of Covid-19 and subsequent need for physical distancing has been associated with feelings of isolation and loneliness. Covid-related stigma has also become pervasive and can result in a sense of hopelessness,” said a senior doctor treating novel coronavirus patients.