Hyderabad: In recent days many cases of pregnant women have been reported, women who were denied admission in several hospitals as they were suspected to infected with COVID-19 and hospitals refused admissions resulting in death.
On a daily basis, hundreds of chronically ill patients & pregnant women in their last trimester with Fever or Flu symptoms in the city are running from pillar to post to get COVID clearance for admission and initiation of the treatment but are facing undue hardships as the present process of testing is not taking into account the urgency and criticality into the picture states a report from city NGO, Helping Hand Foundation, which is trying to help such patients for testing and treatment.
Many of the pregnant women who need COVID clearance due to Influenza-like illness are in the 8th or 9th month of pregnancy and are from lower economic strata and habitants of Urban slums – they are approaching Government Community Health (CHCs) and Govt Area Hospitals in the old city.
In order to reduce morbidity and mortality of chronically ill patients & pregnant women who require immediate medical management – it is very important for the government to consider easing testing process and make the process more accessible and preferably on Outpatient basis. A dedicated lab or an Hospital can be made a nodal centre for testing all chronic cases or pregnant women.
Today all chronic disease cases like heart patients, CKD patients, TB, Cancer, and more so pregnant women having fever or flu-like illness are required to undergo COVID test /clearance and the process involves getting admitted in the designated Centers and stay admitted for a couple of days till the results.
Moreover, there are no clear guidelines or a help desk for these patients to verify the process and get tested.
The rules are changing dynamically by hospitals – the referral hospital writes to get tested at Gandhi or King Koti but when pregnant women reach there they say go to Sultan bazar maternity and with already one of the large government maternity hospital at Petlaburj now scaling down operations many pregnant women from weaker sections are in lurch according to the report from the NGO.
The NGO has stated, it is coming across tens of such patients in the city, who are running from pillar to post and are being refused treatment by hospitals until they get tested for COVID which is endangering their lives due to delay in initiation of treatment.
If we simplify the testing process on OP basis for Chronically Ill and pregnant women – we will reduce the hardship of these already distressed souls and it will be easier for these patients to quickly get tested in a hassle-free manner and seek treatment said Mr. Mujtaba Hasan Askari, Helping Hand Foundation.
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