Indore: Pvt hospitals continue to shun HIV patients

[Guest guest]

Pvt hospitals continue to shun HIV patients

Nivedita Khandekar

Indore, December 31, 2006. GOING BY age-old wisdom `every society is

judged by how it treats it's least fortunate', Indore's medical

fraternity fares poorly when it comes to treating (more importantly

operating upon) HIV + patients. The case of a blind HIV + person

turned away by a private hospital and later operated upon at MY

Hospital last week has brought to fore the issue of attitude,

awareness and preparedness of the medical fraternity while dealing

with such patients.

There are clear Supreme Court guidelines, NACO protocols and enough

universal precautions to be followed by nursing and para-medical

staff for preventing not just HIV but any infection, then why should

private nursing homes and hospitals turn away HIV positive patients?

The reasons may be anything from financial (as claimed by most of the

hospitals owing to the costly disposable kit) or the reluctance of

doctors and para-medics due to the social stigma attached to this

disease.

Says Dr V P Pandey, in charge of the ART Centre at M Y Hospital

here, " They (the private hospitals) come up with such reasons that

the patient is automatically forced to shift to another hospital or M

Y Hospital. " For example, a corporate hospital turned away a patient

saying his surgery could wait for three months. The patient cross-

checked with another doctor only to find that he was asked to wait

because he was detected with HIV.

Manager of the Anand Hospital and Research Centre, where the 35-year-

old patient was first taken and then went to M Y for operation for

piles, Huzeffa Kanchwala, says, " It was definitely not because the

staff refused. They were aware of it right from day one. "

Dr Vijay Nichani, who was treating the said patient, adds, " The main

factor was that the patient could not afford cost of the disposable

kit. Another factor is, the doctors are aware of the precautions to

be taken and they do not hold any stigma aspect. But it is the poorly

trained or untrained nursing staff and the paramedics, who raise the

issue of social stigma in case of professional injury. "

All the big hospitals and even medium-sized private hospitals and

nursing homes in the City claim to follow universal precautions and

the protocol required during treatment of HIV + patients, but not all

have actually operated any HIV patients. Says Medical Administrator

at CHL Apollo Hospitals Dr Archana Mahajan, " More than the cost of

the kit, main reason is in cases where we cannot carry out dis-

infection of machines and equipment used in any operation/procedure,

we cannot possibly put other patients' lives at risk. "

The other big hospitals in the City - Choithram Hospital and Research

Centre, Bombay Hospital and Bhandari Hospital and Research Centre –

too claim to provide regular treatment to HIV positive patients.

CEO of the medium-sized Greater Kailash Hospital K K Sharma says the

hospital has trained staff to handle such patients, but they have not

yet operated any HIV positive patients.

Says Assistant Director (Hospital Services) at Choithram Hospital Dr

Amit Bhat, " We regularly conduct infection control classes for our

staff. We have been treating and operating HIV + patients always. "

Echoes MD of the 100-bed Suyash Hospital Dr Govind Malpani, " There is

an hospital infection committee, which regularly monitors if the laid

down precautions are followed or not. "

Dr Dinesh Bhandari, Medical Superintendent of Bhandari Hospital and

Research Centre says, " We have our own sterilisation plant so there

is no problem of infection spread. " Medical Superintendent of Bombay

Hospital Dr Ratnadeep Chaskar agrees to similar practices. But it is

the conduct of management, staff and doctors of several other smaller

hospitals, which is questionable.

There are more than 200 nursing homes and smaller clinics in the

City. Says Shivani, a counsellor at the Prevention of Parent to Child

Transmission Centre (PPTCT) at the M Y Hospital, " Private clinics and

nursing homes from other towns and cities near Indore too send such

patients to us. Not just private hospitals and nursing homes, we get

women referred by Khandwa, Neemuch and even Burhanpur hospitals. "

Madhya Pradesh State AIDS Control Society (MPSACS) regularly conducts

training for doctors and paramedics at the district hospitals and

there is no reason why a patient should be turned away from any

government facility, she points out.

Adds Dr Pandey, " Turning away of HIV + patients by doctors is a very

bad practice. Doctors need to come forward to change this attitude.

What is happening at present is whatever patients are being treated

at private hospitals or nursing homes are mostly due to professional

compulsions or personal pressures. "

But, slowly the picture is changing, he says and adds, " It took a lot

of time to change things at MY. It is quite common, at government

facilities and also at private hospitals at Mumbai or Delhi to go

ahead with operations on HIV patients. Slowly, others too are

joining. There would definitely be a positive change, albeit slowly. "

http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/5922_1885228,0015002100000001.htm

[Guest guest]

Dear FORUM,

Re:Indore: Pvt hospitals continue to shun HIV patients. This has been problem in

most of the states in the private set ups in particular.

Infact routine preoperative protocol invariably involves HIV

TESTING without pre/post test counselling provision and positive cases are

referred to govt hospitals giving some lame reasons.

Dr G V Prabhu

Chief Medical Officer

E-MAIL: dr_gvprabhu@...