At Lok Nayak, patients’ families wait hours for update on their condition

Lok Nayak Hospital is Delhi’s biggest Covid hospital with 2,000 beds, of which 37% were occupied on Monday, according to data provided on the Delhi Corona mobile app.

Prabha Singh claims it took her three days to get an update on the status of her 63-year-old father who has been admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) of Lok Nayak Hospital.

The hospital also has 64 ventilators, the maximum at any single Covid facility in Delhi. Over 78% of the ventilators at the hospital are under use. (Vipin Kumar/HT PHOTO)

“My father is a sugar patient and has severe breathing issues. All I need to know is whether a doctor is periodically checking on him and he is receiving medicines on time,” said Singh.

On Monday, she was finally able to talk to a doctor treating her father after a person on the helpdesk called her from her father’s mobile phone and made the doctor speak to her.

Singh’s experience isn’t unique.

Despite a temporary helpdesk created to provide updates on the condition of patients, relatives of people admitted to the Covid wards of Lok Nayak say that it’s still very difficult to get one.

Lok Nayak Hospital is Delhi’s biggest Covid hospital with 2,000 beds, of which 37% were occupied on Monday, according to data provided on the Delhi Corona mobile app. The 2,000 beds account for nearly 15% of all 13,377 beds currently available in Delhi’s hospitals. The hospital also has 64 ventilators, the maximum at any single Covid facility in Delhi. Over 78% of the ventilators at the hospital are under use.

Rohit Kumar, said he had to wait for two hours before a security guard took him near the Covid ward where he handed over a bag of clothes for his 26-year-old sister, Rachna Verma, who has been admitted for 20 days.

“I got a slip made at the helpdesk, but I couldn’t find the guard who was assigned to me,” Rohit Kumar said after finally meeting the guard and sending across the bag.

A senior doctor serving in the Covid ward of the hospital said that while government doctors are trained to take on heavy case load and work for long hours, demands for updates from the relatives of patients are overwhelming.

“The phone numbers of doctors are not shared with patients’ relatives, but we receive requests for updates from the coordination cell that caters to relatives,” added this doctor who asked not to be named.

“But there are so many patients that it is not possible to repeatedly respond to each of their queries. Yet, we are doing all we can to inform them, and even help get across things they want to send to their patients,” said the doctor.

A Delhi government spokesperson said that from Tuesday a “full-fledged” helpdesk will start operating from the hospital. “ From Tuesday, we’ll have a proper helpdesk where at least half-a-dozen people, from representatives of the chief minister to hospital doctors, will be stationed to cater to the queries of the kin of the patients.”

The spokesperson added that a WhatsApp helpline number has been launched to cater to the relatives.

On Monday, while posters of the WhatsApp helpline numbers were pasted near the helpdesk, relatives of many patients were seen waiting to collect slips from the temporary helpdesk so that they could either send across clothers or food, or have a word with the doctors.

“We are doing our best under the current circumstances,” said a staff member at the desk, refusing to identify herself or speak any further.

Dr Suresh Kumar, medical director (MD) of the hospital, said clothes are not allowed to be taken to the wards since there is a risk of them bringing infection. “We only allow eatables and water, etc brought by the family members.”

As for the patients facing problem in speaking to their family members, he said most patients have their cell phones with them. “The problem occurs when they are on oxygen on ventilator support, which is true for most of our patients. We cannot remove the oxygen to allow the patients to talk to the family members.”

The hospital MD said that with 10 tablets being pressed into service, relatives will be able to interact with their kin over video. “We have purchased ten tablets -- half of which will remain in the wards and the rest will be kept at the help desk. The relatives of the patients can come to the helpdesk for say two hours in the morning and two hours in the evening and communicate with them over video call. If successful, we will add the tablets to each ward,” said Dr Kumar.

Many relatives said they frequently try the helpline numbers to receive an update on their kin. While some succeed, others said they often have to wait for hours to hear back.

Nitin Kumar, whose 70-year-old father Hoshiyaar Singh, is in the hospital’s ICU, said the number is often busy, but admits that he does eventually get an update from the doctor. “They just tell me that he is stable and that he is eating well. In these times, that is all I want to hear.”

Pradeep Kumar, whose uncle is in the Covid ward of the same hospital, said he doesn’t receive a response despite waiting for hours.“I am told that I’ll receive a response in two minutes. That two minutes turn into two hours, but the response never arrives. My uncle has told me that there are two dozen wards, but only half-a-dozen doctors tending to them. So, I have decided to visit the hospital to directly seek response rather than dialling the helpline number.”

Kumar requested staff at the helpdesk to give him a PPE kit and then take him to his uncle, but the staff turned his request down.