The quarantining of a popular private hospital in Odisha’s Bhubaneswar after it treated a man, who later tested positive for coronavirus, has left more than 30 patients undergoing dialysis at its centre in a lurch.
A 60-year-old Bhubaneswar man, who tested positive for the coronavirus disease on March 26, had attended the OPD and then admitted to the ICU of Kar Clinic between March 21 and March 23 for treatment of cough and cold leading to pneumonia.
After he was diagnosed with Covid-19, Kar Clinic was closed for violation of Odisha government’s guideline and 21 doctors and other caregivers of the hospital were put under quarantine.
After the Kar Clinic’s closure, a dialysis centre run in its campus by NephroPlus, a leading dialysis network of the country, at least 35 patients who used to get their dialysis done twice a week in the centre have been left in the lurch.
Subash Samal, a 39-year-old renal patient who has been undergoing dialysis for over last 15 months, said he was turned away by other hospitals in the city after they found that he attended Kar Clinic.
“The hospitals asked for a negative test report for corona from Capital Hospital, the nodal centre for Covid-19. When I went to the Capital hospital, its director initially turned us away saying too many people were in the queue and we have to wait for three months to get our sample tested,” said Samal.
“After I and other patients created an uproar, our swab samples were taken for testing at a laboratory. The test reports would be known tomorrow. Though I should have undergone dialysis today, I have no other way but to wait till Monday. It’s a question of life and death for me,” he said.
Similarly, Swapnarani Patnaik, 38 said she too was turned away by other hospitals in the city over fears that she may be infected.
“I am getting dialysis for about a year. I had last done on March 24 and the second one was scheduled today. When I went to another hospital they asked me for a negative test report for Covid-19. If water accumulates in my kidney I would die if I don’t get dialysis done latest by tomorrow. I have been waiting at the Capital Hospital since 6am for the test of my samples,” said Patnaik.
Laxmi Chhualasingha was also turned away by other hospitals as she lacked a negative test report for Covid-19. Her husband Narayan Chhualasingh said dialysis patients were being punished for no fault of theirs.
“We have to undergo dialysis twice a week. If there is a delay of 12 hours we may die. To get my wife’s swab samples tested, I got her to Capital Hospital in the morning, but I was told we have to wait long. She has to undergo dialysis quickly,” he said.
Sateesh Mohapatra, who works in Bengaluru, was distressed after his 80-year-old father was turned away by other hospitals for dialysis.
“My father was getting his dialysis at Kar Clinic. To get a negative test report for coronavirus, he drove to Capital Hospital today himself and did the screening. He stayed there for almost five hours and returned at about 3pm,” said Mohapatra.
“He was told to collect the report tomorrow and then they will direct to some hospital where dialysis can be done. My major concern is how my father will do all these himself,” he said.
Ashok Patnaik, the director of Capital Hospital, said samples of not more than 10-12 dialysis patients can be tested at a time as the hospital was already overloaded with the collection of samples of people who came in contact with two Covid-19 patients.
“I told the patients that you select 10 most serious patients among yourselves and we would send their samples for testing. Kar Clinic has become our major headache now and we may enter the third phase of Covid-19 transmission due to it,” said Patnaik.
