COVID-19: 'Cancer survivors, pregnant women hit hard'

As the government focuses on fighting the Covid-19 pandemic, public health experts have flagged concerns over chronic patients unable to get the necessary regular medical support.

The lives of those seeking immediate treatment have been jeopardised by the police rule to get a pass, they said.

In a report on the consequences of the lockdown on the health system, experts Dr Sylvia Karpagam, Dr Vasu and activists Vinay Sreenivasa said chronic patients were unable to get dialysis, chemotherapy and blood transfusions.

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“We know of nine children aged 5-9 and their guardians who were abruptly told to leave the Kidwai Memorial Institute of Oncology. They are from East India and do not have a place to stay in Bengaluru or travel back to their homes. The state has not taken any responsibility to find alternative accommodation for them,” the report said.

It said treating Covid-19 patients at Kidwai Hospital also risks exposing cancer survivors, who are immunocompromised, to the coronavirus.

The group noted that Thalassemia and other patients requiring blood transfusion are in trouble as blood banks are not getting sufficient donations due to the lockdown. "As each Thalassemia patient needs up to two units every 15 days, they are severely affected,” it said.

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The rule to get police passes has also come as a major hurdle for immunocompromised patients like HIV survivors. They or their caretakers need to get a pass from the police and stand in crowded queues to get the medicine. This puts patients at higher risk of mortality, they said.

Elaborating on the problems of pregnant women, the report said private clinics and even government hospitals were refusing to attend to women in advanced stages of labour.

A 20-year-old woman in Rajanakunte and a 33-year-old woman in Dandeli were refused the medical procedure, which forced the 33-year-old to travel to Hubballi to deliver her child.

The report urged the government to set up a grievance redress system to address the complaints of denial of care. It also wants the state to ensure that the lockdown doesn’t disrupt blood banks, ambulances, emergency and tertiary care.

A task force representing interests of all stakeholders in planning the lifting of the lockdown should be formed, it suggested.