Families of hospitalised Covid-positive mothers forced to stay out in open in Bengaluru

Gosha has posted notices stating that patients' families would not be allowed within the hospital premises. DH Photo/B K Janardhan

Families of Covid-positive mothers admitted to the Hajee Sir Ismail Sait (HSIS) Gosha Covid-19 maternity hospital in Shivajinagar have been spending days and nights out in the open during the ongoing third wave.

Reason: The facility does not have a dormitory for relatives.

The families, who hail from Bengaluru Rural, Ramanagar, Tumakuru, Mandya, and Kolar, who have no home in the city, said they were initially being forced to stay and sleep on an uneven footpath outside the hospital. The intervention of a social organisation last week saw the people being moved within the hospital grounds.

But this is of little improvement, said 52-year-old Thimaiah from Kunigal whose pregnant daughter is in the hospital. “There is no food, fresh water, or toilets here,” he said. “At night, we are swarmed by mosquitos to the point of being unable to sleep.”

Dr Tulasi Devi, medical superintendent, Gosha, said the hospital’s official policy is that no family should come to the hospital because it is a Covid treatment centre. “There is concern that the congregation of people will trigger a spreader event and a cluster,” she said.

At the gate, the hospital had posted printed notices stating that patients’ families would not be allowed within the premises. However, this has not stopped the approximately 28 family members who were found on the grounds on Monday.

Among them was Dhanalakshmi from Bannerghatta, who said she could not return home because she was worried about her daughter who had tested positive while at Vani Vilas Hospital moments after the completion of a C-section last week.

“Gosha is providing our kin with all appropriate Covid-19 care and three meals a day, but it does not provide non-Covid medication for migraine or tea/coffee. This is why I continue to remain here because my daughter needs certain things. If I leave, who will give it to her?” she asked.

Same scene at other hospitals

DH visited Kidwai Memorial Institute of Oncology and Bangalore Medical College and Research Institute (BMCRI) and found similar scenes of patients’ relatives being relegated to waiting on pavements or sheds.

At KC General Hospital, Dr B R Venkatesaiah said that no specific dorms had been set aside for out-of-district relatives, but that a waiting area was available during the daytime.

Sabeel Nazir, trustee of Bengaluru-based NGO Naasih Foundation, said the ongoing nursing staff shortage at all government hospitals made the inclusion of family support networks vital.

“Families are not allowed inside the Covid ward, but they can still send food or other supplies through hospital staffers,” he said.

Dr Venkat Reddy, Covid-19 nodal officer at Gosha, specified that the hospital became a dedicated Covid maternity treatment hospital on January 11. “We have about 42 patients currently, out of which 36 are neonatal cases,” he said, adding that about 30 of the total number of patients admitted so far were from other districts.

Families of these patients allege that their infected kin did not have ready access to a bed upon arrival. Dr Reddy said this is due to the process of converting patient ID numbers to BU (Bengaluru Urban) numbers to allow them to be admitted here.

“We are now in consultation with officials in these districts to get this sorted out so that people are not rushed here when they have access to medical care in their own towns,” he said.

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