Elderly, chronically ill patients suffer as lockdown restricts medical assistance in Andhra Pradesh

VISAKHAPATNAM: Hundreds of elderly people and those suffering from chronic medical conditions in Visakhapatnam are finding it difficult to get everyday medical assistance because of the lockdown, said doctors, hospital authorities and organisations providing homecare.
The daily medical assistance, includes checking blood pressure and blood glucose level and administering insulin and injections.While assistants at local pharmaceutical stores are unavailable at most places, most private hospitals have stopped sending their personnel to houses to collect samples as a precautionary measure to protect their staff from the virus. Health-care experts said because of these factors, many people suffering from diabetes, renal ailments, hypertension, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and other diseases are finding it difficult to get their conditions monitored regularly or the medical support they used to get readily before the lockdown kicked in.
V Ram Prasad, 59 years, a resident of Railway New Colony, is diabetic and recently his right leg, below the knee, was amputed because of gangrene. “My father is bed-ridden and needs physiotherapy. But now I am not getting any physiotherapist. I approached the hospital where he underwent the surgery but they failed to provide one,” said Kiran, Ram Prasad’s son.
Similar is the case of a 65-year-old man living in Thatichetlapalem, who needs an injection to be administered every 10 days, which keeps his haemoglobin level normal. “My father is diabetic and his kidney is affected, too. Doctors said the injection can boost the haemoglobin level so that the vital organs are not further damaged. But the man who administers the injection is no longer available,” said her daughter. The doctor has told her to wait till the lockdown is over.
“Many patients are reluctant to go to hospital because they are scared of getting infected by coronavirus. So, services such as nebulisation for patients suffering from COPD, or setting up oxygen cylinders, dressing wounds, administering intra-muscular injections and checking blood pressure have been seriously affected,” said Dr K Santosh Kumar, internal medicine specialist.
The CEO of a private hospital in Ram Nagar said they are getting calls from people who have fever or other ailments like urinary tract infection and need to get complete blood count test done. “Two of my employees in the sample collection department have been quarantined at home after they went to collect blood samples of a person who later tested positive for Covid-19. So, we have stopped sample collectors from visiting houses,” said the CEO.
Two of my employees in the sample collection department were quarantined at home after they went to collect blood samples of a person who later tested positive for Covid-19. So, we have stopped sample collectors from visiting houses