E-Paper
Lack of identity proof deprives homeless and mentally ill of Covid tests
The Delhi government’s Institute of Human Behaviour and Allied Sciences (IHBAS) is facing a major hurdle while trying to get homeless people with mental health issues
The Delhi government’s Institute of Human Behaviour and Allied Sciences (IHBAS) is facing a major hurdle while trying to get homeless people with mental health issues tested for Covid-19—their lack of identity proof.
According to a June 22 Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) order based on Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) guidelines, proof of identity and a contact number are mandatory for a Covid-19 test to be administered—both by the RT-PCR and rapid antigen methods—to a patient.
IHBAS has requested both the Centre and Delhi government to modify the testing guidelines.
Dr Nimesh Desai, the director of IHBAS, said that the present norms of Covid-19 testing are not only depriving homeless people with mental health issues of timely and proper medical care, they are also posing a risk to health care workers at the institute.
“Of the 25 homeless people with mental health illnesses brought to the institute in the past three months, we could get just four tested for Covid-19 because we found their relatives who then furnished the requisite papers. Of the four, three tested positive. We can’t get the others tested—these people don’t even remember their names,” Dr Desai said.
The institute has created an isolation ward where such persons are kept under observation for 14 days or until they can be tested. “It is creating a difficult situation for us. Without a test, we can’t get them admitted to a Covid-19 hospital. Nearly 40 members of my staff (doctors, nurses and attendants) and 10 patients have tested positive for Covid-19 so far,” he said.
In an order dated June 22, chief secretary Vijay Dev, who is also the chairperson of the state executive committee of DDMA, had directed all testing labs and authorities to ensure that a person has a government-issued identity card and functional mobile number before a test could be conducted for Covid-19.
“The mobile number furnished (by the person who is getting the test done) is tested to be functional and correct through a missed call…The testing labs/authorities concerned shall be held responsible if the person tested is untraceable…,” the order read.
Dr Desai said that he had raised the matter with the Centre, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and the Delhi government, as well as requested it to take it up with the Centre. “There should be clear guidelines about Covid-19 tests for homeless people who don’t have valid identity proofs and contact numbers. We do understand that the directions issued by the chief secretary are in accordance with ICMR guidelines. We have requested the government to take up the matter with the Centre, as the issue needs to be reviewed and sorted out by ICMR and the central government.”
Indu Prakash, a member of the Supreme Court-appointed monitoring committee for homeless shelters in Delhi, said that the concern raised by IHBAS is valid. “Though we have tried to get Aadhaar cards and voter IDs made for a lot of homeless people, those who don’t have them shouldn’t be deprived of medical treatment for the contagious disease. They have a right to proper medical care during this pandemic, even if they don’t have an identity card.”
An ICMR official said, “The ICMR form doesn’t mandatorily require an individual’s phone number or address at the time of sample collection; they are required for the RT-PCR app for the state to conduct surveillance.”
However, a senior Delhi government official with the health department put the onus of responsibility back on ICMR’s shoulders and said, “We have received the letter from the IHBAS director regarding the problem they’ve been facing while getting the test administered to homeless persons with mental health issues. We are writing to ICMR in this regard. It is ICMR which has made the RT-PCR app mandatory so we have no option but to ask for the contact numbers and identity proofs before testing for Covid-19.”
The Delhi government spokesperson didn’t not comment on the issue.
Meanwhile, a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) was filed in the Delhi High Court by advocate Gaurav Kumar Bansal on June 22 seeking directions to the Centre and the Delhi government to issue guidelines for the Covid-19 testing of homeless people with mental health issues in the Capital. The court had directed the Centre and the state government to file their reply in the matter, which is listed for a hearing on July 9.
