Septuagenarian 1st +ve in mental hosp as she awaits sons

Nagpur: Septuagenarian Chanda Devi (name changed) landed up at the Regional Mental Hospital in January after she was found wandering in the city. From Uttar Pradesh’s Maharajganj along Nepal border, she had reached Nagpur after straying out of home last year. Cured and her family also traced, Chanda Devi is now infected with Covid as she waited for sons for over two months to take her back home.
“Her sons seem to be only buying time saying it may not be possible due to the lockdown,” say hospital authorities citing many others from equally far off places got passes issued and took their kin back.
One of her sons contacted by TOI said he had purchased a tatkal ticket and planned to reach Nagpur in a day.
Chanda Devi is the first Covid positive patient in the mental hospital, which has over 400 inmates. “She was negative during the first round of tests at hospital. In June last week, she developed severe jaundice and a swollen lever was noticed. She was sent to Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) for tests to rule out cancer. When her condition worsened two days ago, she was sent to GMCH again where she tested Covid positive,” said RMH superintendent Dr Madhuri Thorat. The cancer test reports are yet to come.
Hospital sources said there are chances that she may have go the infection during the first visit to the GMCH.
Officials of the social service wing of RMH say Chanda Devi could have gone out of the mental hospital long back had her sons responded promptly. “We repeatedly called them and they said it may not be possible to come due to lockdown. They would not even call her up. Rather we would connect her with them through video call once in a while,” said a hospital source.
“Once, one of the sons said he will be flying down to Nagpur, but did not turn up. A message was sent to police station at Maharajganj too as it is mandatory for the kin to take back the patient once cured,” said the source.
“There were patients from Bihar and Jharkhand too whose relatives came in private vehicles and took them back. Many of them were poor, though Chanda Devi’s sons appeared to be financially better off,” said the source, adding passes are easily available for such reasons and they could have easily come down.