Mandya: An acute staff crunch has meant that relatives have been forced to tend to Covid-19 patients admitted at the state-run Mandya Institute of Medical Sciences in Mandya, Karnataka.
When ThePrint visited the hospital on 14 May, there were around 54 patients admitted in three of the several Covid-19 wards. But each patient had an attendant right beside them, in clear violation of all Covid-19 treatment protocols.
The attendants were either sleeping on the floor in the same ward near their patients or sitting sporting only cloth masks.
Among them was H.S. Abhishek of Hunuganahalli village in Mandya, whose grandmother, Manglavati, was on oxygen support.
“My grandmother is admitted here and is on oxygen support. When we got her admitted, we were told that someone will have to stay with her as they can’t manage all the patients,” Abhishek told ThePrint. “As I am young and don’t have any other illness, my family asked me to stay here.”
Abhishek himself flagged a major concern with the arrangement — that the attendants could end up spreading the virus in their villages.
“Earlier, a number of people used to stay until evening and then would send someone else for the night shift. But we realised that it led to an increase in the number of cases in the village,” he said. “So I decided to stay on until she fully recovers. I have not been going to the village. I sleep in the corridor here.”
(Since ThePrint’s visit on 14 May, Abhishek has returned to his village and is now isolating. His grandmother has recovered).
A nurse requesting anonymity admitted that the hospital was urging attendants to stay back as the hospital has only two staff members for several patients.
“We ask the patients’ families and they willingly agree to send one attendant who could be the son, daughter or wife of the patient,” the nurse said. “We don’t encourage them to sleep inside the ward with the patients but many insist on doing so.”
The Mandya Institute of Medical Sciences director, Dr Harish M.R., told ThePrint that the administration was working on improving the situation.
“There are a total of 20 wards and four ICUs. We have a total of 240 patients on oxygen beds,” he told ThePrint. “Some of the attendants have requested to be there but we have decided not to allow anyone inside the Covid-19 wards. Since Monday, we have been removing such attendants.”
Mandya Deputy Commissioner S. Aswathi said that the moment the issue was brought to her notice, she instructed the hospital authorities to clear out all bystanders immediately.
“The hospital was facing a major manpower crunch and we found a solution for this as soon as we became aware of the situation,” the IAS officer told ThePrint.
“As of now, we have deputed 55 nurses who are in their final year of nursing in six medical colleges to immediately report to work. We have also begun making arrangements for additional manpower if need be.”
Lack of facilities
Mandya district is in the fertile Kaveri basin of Karnataka, the heartland of the powerful Vokkaliga community and home to a prosperous and vocal paddy and sugarcane growing farming community.
But the region has been hit hard by the second Covid wave. The total cases have doubled in a month in the district, from over 10,000 in April to nearly 21,000 as of 17 May, according to the Mandya dashboard. Around 10 people died Monday while the worst day in terms of fatalities was 5 May, when 19 people succumbed to the virus.
This is in line with the situation in Karnataka, one of the worst affected states in the second wave.
Karnataka reported 38,603 new cases and 476 fatalities Monday (17 May), taking the total number of infections to 22,42,065 and the death toll to 22,313, according to the state health department.
In Mandya, relatives of patients complain about the lack of facilities and what they say is the “focus being just on Bengaluru”.
Dhananjay has been staying with his mother-in-law, who has tested positive at the Mandya Institute of Medical Sciences.
“My mother-in-law is 70-years-old and I can’t leave her alone. I wear a mask and change it every day. I have to help her while taking her to the bathroom too,” he said.
“I don’t take off my mask even once inside the ward as doctors have told me the viral load is a lot here. The government should look at the condition of hospitals in smaller towns too. We need more nurses and doctors, otherwise infections will only spread further.”
Shivarna, whose uncle has also been admitted at the Covid-19 ward for the past 11 days, claims that a major reason behind an increase in the number of cases in the villages is the fact that the government has not put in place a system in smaller towns.
“Everyday all we hear about is Bengaluru. How there are so many cases, so many deaths, and how more beds are being added,” he said. “But the government is missing the point by ignoring the villages and the smaller towns. People spend the night in this ward and return to their villages in the day only to pass on the infection to other villagers.”
“With no facility in these villages, most of them end up in critical condition,” he added.
(Edited by Arun Prashanth)
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