A 60-year-old man, whose swab test results for COVID-19 were awaited, on Friday hanged himself from a ceiling fan inside the isolation ward at the Government Hospital in Ariyalur, 300 km from here.
His swab test, however, returned negative and the results came after the patient had killed himself.
The man, who was working as a labourer in Kerala, returned to his native village in the district on March 23 and was under home quarantine. He came to the Ariyalur Government Hospital voluntarily on April 6 and doctors admitted him to the isolation ward as he had COVID-19 symptoms like fever and cough.
“Since he displayed symptoms for COVID-19 and had travel history, doctors took his swab samples and quarantined him at the isolation ward of the hospital,” Ariyalur District Collector D Rathna told DH. She said the patient had a quarrel with his wife over phone on Thursday night and is said to have shouted at her during the call.
Hospital sources said domestic discord might be the reason for the man’s extreme step and added that he seemed to have been upset with his family members not checking on his health even over the phone. The district collector said the patient attended the regular psychiatric session that is mandatory for all patients in the isolation ward on Friday and had even taken tea and snacks at 5 pm.
“It was the duty doctor who went to the ward at around 7 pm for regular visit found him hanging from the fan. He had used a towel,” she said, adding that his swab samples returned negative – the patient didn’t know since the results came much after he had ended his life.
The suicide of a man inside the isolation ward of a hospital highlights the need to focus more on providing counselling to patients who are lodged in isolation wards of hospitals. The state government says it has made available counsellors to provide psychological support to patients under isolation.
The government has also publicized mobile numbers of counsellors who will provide help to those under stress due to COVID-19 outbreak.
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