Outstation AIIMS patients in two minds: To stay, or leave?

The hospital had shut all its non-emergency departments, including surgical departments and specialty clinics on March 24, a day before the nationwide lockdown came into effect.

With little clarity from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) on when the hospital will resume services at its outpatient department (OPD), more than 500 patients and their attendants who had travelled to the Capital for treatment at the premier institute remain unsure of what they should do next.

Two families from Bihar who have been camping in front of AIIMS for the cancer treatment of a family member. (Sanjeev Verma/HT PHOTO)

The AIIMS administration had, in the second week of May, said they were planning to resume OPD services in phases, but there has been no confirmation on the specific date.

The hospital had shut all its non-emergency departments, including surgical departments and specialty clinics on March 24, a day before the nationwide lockdown came into effect, and kept only its emergency services open for non-Covid patients.

Indrajeet Kumar, 25, a resident of Bihar’s Sitamarhi district who travelled to the Capital to get his father treated in early March, said they are waiting till Monday to see if OPD services resume. He said they would return home if the services stay shut.

“My father uses crutches to walk and was being treated at the neurology department for a bone infection. He has high blood-sugar levels. But now, we are running out of money,” Indrajeet said.

He added that he is not able to record his father’s blood sugar levels on a daily basis because the test strips cost between ₹700-1,000, which he can no longer afford.

Dr DK Sharma, medical superintendent, AIIMS, said ,”We plan to resume the OPD services in several departments sometime next week, but the date is yet to be decided. We are trying to see which departments can be resumed in, as most of manpower has so far been dedicated to Covid care.”

Most of the 500 people used to camp on pavements or in tents outside the hospital, the government shifted most of them to shelter homes across the city soon on May 3. A few, however, continue to sleep in the lawns at the AIIMS roundabout.

Most are battling serious ailments like cancer, heart ailments, disabilities, bone and lung infections, among others. Of these, only cancer patients are able to go for treatment, with the hospital open for chemotherapy.

According to Society for the Promotion of Youth and Masses (SPYM), an NGO that runs three of the Delhi government’s shelter homes here, most of the around 1,200 families that had been camping outside the hospital have left for their home towns — some after being given new dates for their treatments, others who decided to come back once the lockdown ends.

The caretaker of the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB) shelter complex near AIIMS where Kumar is staying said the home initially had 198 occupants, of which around 140 are left now. The rest have left for their home towns.

“Around 20 more are planning to leave and are waiting for Monday to check if services at the hospital reopen or not,” said the caretaker, who did not wish to be named.

Away from home, trapped in the city with little money and hope, occupants in the shelter have been helping each other procure medicines and other essentials. Those who have smartphones share updates about the lockdown with the rest.

For many, the wait has been unending. BP Mathur, came to Delhi from Lucknow in February for his 20-year-old son’s heart surgery. The doctor was supposed to give him a date for the procedure on March 24. “I will wait till next week to get the date, so that we at least know when to return,” Mathur said.

Seventeen year-old Rani is paralysed from the waist-down. Her mother, Suman Rajvanshi, said,“We have very little money left now. Shelter authorities have helped us buy essentials, as well as a wheelchair for her. We haven’t been able to see the doctor after March 18, said Suman, who came from West Bengal’s Uttar Dinajpur in March.

Rajesh Kumar, executive director, SPYM, an NGO running two of these shelters, said many occupants want to go back home. “For all those who want to go, we get their Covid-19 tests done and get them registered with the government to arrange their travel back. Many have serious illnesses, while some have been given dates for much later,” Kumar said.