Patients suffer because the thalassemia center has become a shop

Patients with thalassemia are having a difficult time because the civil hospital’s daycare center for the disease has been turned into a shop. Twelve people are receiving care at the civil hospital right now.

Patients suffering from thalassemia are compelled to get treatment in the regular wards in the absence of a daycare center. The ward remained unchanged when it was transformed during COVID-19.

When receiving blood transfusions, adults are sent to the general ward and children are transported to the pediatric ward. The patients must stay in the hospital for around five hours in order to get their daily prescription and finish the transfusion.

The age range of the patients receiving therapy is 2–17 years old. Patients are moving to private hospitals in the lack of suitable facilities. Remarkably, just 12 of the district’s estimated 415 thalassemia patients are receiving care from the civic hospital.

A patient named Sukrit has moved from the government hospital to a private one for his medical care.

“At the civil hospital, a lot of time was lost, and sometimes the procedure takes the whole day. It is not enjoyable to visit the general ward. According to him, patients often have to make many trips around the hospital since medications are not always accessible.

According to the parent of a patient, the civil hospital has a lot of red tape. “I am compelled to come here because I cannot afford the treatment in private hospitals,” he said.

The daycare center was turned into a shop during COVID, but senior medical officer Dr. Deepika Goyal said that they did not turn it back since they did not have enough employees.

“We are now treating individuals with thalassaemia on the general ward. We intend to set aside a special area for thalassaemia day care now that the hospital is expanding,” the spokeswoman said.