Didn’t get medicine kits, not contacted by officials, say Covid patients in Chandigarh

Many Covid-19 patients in Chandigarh, alleging negligence by the UT Administration, say that they did not receive the medicine kits by the authorities after testing positive. Many of them say that despite making frequent calls to the health department, they did not receive the kits.

Meanwhile, several patients also claim that they were not contacted by the health officials.

Speaking to The Indian Express about his experience, Advocate Kuljinder Sra, General Secretary of Sector 33-B Resident Welfare Association, said, “The day my wife and I tested positive, nobody from the hospital contacted us. After four days when nobody from the health department contacted us, I myself called the Health department. Till then we had taken the medication prescribed by our family doctor.”

Sra said that there was no help from the administration. On sanitisation, he said, “Nobody came for sanitisation and garbage collection. It was only after I used my personal contacts that I got it done. It seems the facilities for patients are only on papers.”

A similar ordeal was experienced by a Sector 27 resident.

“I tested positive on May 8. Despite making a number of calls at the helpline of the health department, there was no one who responded. I did not receive any Covid kit from the Chandigarh Administration. I have been taking medicines on my own through teleconsultation,” said Aman Goyal, a resident of Sector 27.

Recounting his experience, Pankaj Gupta, President of Sector 38 West Resident Welfare Association said: “I was infected with coronavirus last month and was home-quarantined for 17 days. The day after I tested positive, I was sent a medicines kit without any oxymeter, but with a prescription slip inside. Nobody came to guide me about the day-to-day care, precautions, diet etc. Finally, I started having medicines and did a follow-up under a private doctor.”

He added, “During the 17 days, I received only two calls from para-medical staff of government hospital in Sector 32, to know how I was feeling and no proper guidance was given to me regarding the fever and persisting symptoms. Even on the last day, when I completed my isolation period, nobody bothered to contact me. Health authorities should ensure proper surveillance of home quarantined Covid-19 patients as all family members are quarantined along with the patient.”