Abandoned by His Family, Wenlock Doctors Rescue Man with Complicated Malaria

Abandoned by His Family, Wenlock Doctors Rescue Man with Complicated Malaria

Mangaluru: Here is a story of a husband and a father, who for decades took care of his family through his hard earned money, but year ago due to some personal issues was kicked out of his house by his wife and two children- and since then has been loitering around in Mangaluru, doing petty jobs here and there, and later at night taking shelter at cheap hotels or sleeping in bus-shelters. Recently he got affected with Malaria, and when his condition deteriorated he fell unconscious and caring citizens had arranged to shift him to Government Wenlock Hospital by 108 ambulance. The person’s name is Santhosh Poojary, aged 44, originally hailing from Dharmasthala.

Just like Santhosh, there are quite a number of patients who are abandoned by their kith and kin when they get, and when they can’t afford to take care of them when bedridden for long at the hospital. It’s a sad kind of situation that is going on at the Wenlock hospital, and the officials and staff there who are helpless have no other choice than to take care of these abandoned patients, no matter what hurdles they face. That’s the state of many patients with severe illness, for whom Wenlock is a home away from home. With nothing in terms of a plan to integrate them with families and the society, they languish in the wards. On an average, close to 20 per cent of the in-patients are abandoned by their families.

“Even when the hospital offered the option of family wards and open wards, which means that family members and friends can stay with the severely ill, there are few takers. Some family members stay for a few days and then vanish. Many furnish wrong address so that they can’t be traced. We have to approach the police to trace the families. But sometimes the police, with their own other workloads, take a lot of time in tracing back the families of these sick persons. Till that time, the chronic ill patients languish here with no one to support them adding to the travails” said District Medical Officer Dr Rajeshwari Devi speaking to Team Mangalorean.

In order to bring awareness and also to send a message to the society not to abandon their loved ones at the Govt Wenlock hospital, which is not human and not the right thing to do, Dr Rajeshwari Devi had approached Team mangalorean to do a story on Santhosh, and highlight the pain as to how a patient feels when he or she is neglected or abandoned by their own family members in their time of distress-which would shed a light on others to stop doing what they are doing-like ABANDONING THEIR LOVED ONES WHEN THEY GET REAL SICK.

Narrating the story of Santhosh to Team Mangalorean, Dr Rajeshwari said, ” On 30th December Santhosh was brought to Govt Wenlock hospital in a unconscious condition by 108 Ambulance for complicated Malaria with kidney failure. Since on that all our ICU beds were full (there are only 12 beds at present, until the new block opens soon), and also that the dialysis unit was under service, I had to request the Medical Superintendent of KMC Hospital-Attavar Dr Anand Venugopal, if he could treat this patient with emergency services, for which Dr Anand kindly obliged. For 24 hours Santhosh was under the treatment of Dr Mohammed Ismail (prof. of Medicine-MD in General medicine); Dr Vishnu Chandra (MD in General Medicine); and Dr Gayathri Srikumar (Post Graduate in MD-Medicine)”

” All the expenses incurred in treating Santhosh at KMC will be borne by Wenlock Hospital, which is around Rs 20,000. Apart from this, the doctors who treated Santhosh provided food and other personal requirements on their cost at KMC and even at Wenlock. In possession of Santhosh, we could only find his Drivers license with address but no other ID nor phone number, so we had to wait till he got back to consciousness. After obtaining the phone number of his wife, I personally called his wife, who was very reluctant to speak to me and openly said that she has nothing to do with santhosh and his illness. I tried calling her back again, but she wouldn’t answer. Now the only option for us is to take care of Santhosh until he recovers. That’s not a issue for us, because our duty is to treat patients under any circumstances- but my concern is that no family member should be left alone or abandoned when they get sick by their kith and kin- and I want tos end this message to everyone through your portal, which could make a difference. Thank You” concluded DMO Dr Rajeshwari Devi.

Speaking to Team Mangalorean from his hospital ICU bed, Santhosh narrating his ordeal said, ” I have been married to Bindu, aged 38 for the last 20 years, and have two children, one girl, aged 18 doing her computer studies, and a boy, aged 15 doing his SSLC. For decades I worked as a driver, and supported my family, provided good education for my children also. A year ago there were some family issues, where my wife’s family joined together and kicked me out of the house. This is what I got for taking care of my wife and kids for so many years. Since one year I have been loitering in Mangaluru doing few petty jobs and at night either stayed at cheap lodges or in bus-shelters.”

” Few days I developed severe pains in my stomach, and all i know was that I was unconsciousness. Don’t know who brought me to the hospital, but I thank the people who were the good Samaritans in shifting me to the hospital. I also thank these three doctors who have taken good care of me and also Dr Rajeshwari Devi Madam for her kindness and support during the last couple of days. I am not sure where I will go when I get discharged, probably back on streets, since my wife and kids don’t have the slightest courtesy to visit me at the hospital, when I am lying in pain and sorrow. No father should go like I am going through now. I can’t say anything more, God is my only strength and support, and the all the good people at Wenlock hospital. Thank You Sir, for your time and concern. May God bless you all” concluded Santhosh in tears.

Seen in photo: L-R – Dr Vishnu Chandra, Dr Gayathri Srikumar, and Dr Rajeshwari Devi

In conclusion, in my perspective, even though DMO Dr Rajeshwari devi, RMO Dr Julian Saldanha, Doctors , Nurses and other Staff of Govt Wenlock Hospital are doing a great job in taking care of hundreds of patients that throng the hospital every single day, and even though hospital has been providing free health care facilities to abandoned patients but there is still lack of certain facilities which need to be addressed by the govt officials soon. 12 beds in ICU is kind of a low number when you look at so many patients coming in-this needs to be looked over by the govt. It is learnt that each day quite a number of abandoned people are brought by police or by ambulances to the hospital for treatment- but with space and facilities it has been very hard for the staff to manage.

The government must allocate more budget for infrastructure development in the hospital. Many poor patients are deprived of good health facilities due to the expensive treatment and medication. It’s very sad to note that many patients are deserted by family members. This could be the worst nightmare for anybody to come across. A situation where patients are deserted by the kith and kin in the hospital! With the patients unable to recall the place where they belong to, the hospital ward’s four walls become a sanctuary for them. And, when the police finally manage to pin down their address, either it turns out to be a fictitious one or the family has already moved on to a new city or a new place. Those who are successfully sent back to their homes, seldom come back to the hospital for a follow-up. It’s as if they simply vanish.

As Dr Rajeshwari Devi already mentioned, let me say it again-“PLEASE DON’T ABANDON YOUR FAMILY MEMBERS WHEN THEY GET SICK AT THE HOSPITAL. THAT IS VERY IN-HUMAN AND NOT THE RIGHT THING TO DO. THANK YOU”

• Dr Padmanabh Kamath-a Cardiologist turns Good Samaritan by Donating Wheel-Chairs