Kin of COVID dead cry for way to see family in final moments

New Delhi: With the death and despair caused by the ferocious second wave of the pandemic already robbing hundreds of the right to bid goodbye to their loved ones, many who have lost their family members to the virus in the city have now said that hospitals and the administration should provide a way for people to say their final goodbyes.

A Delhi-based advocate Arunima whose father was admitted at Delhi's Rajiv Gandhi Hospital tweeted on Sunday how she was not able to speak to her dying father, even after communicating it to the hospital administration numerous times.

"I lost my father tonight at Rajiv Gandhi Hospital, Dilshad Garden. I kept trying to get on just 1 phone call with him, never made it past the authorities. He was utterly confused, scared and I didn't get a chance to tell him that I hadn't abandoned him. I will never forget this," she wrote.

Hoping that no family goes through this she further wrote, "We understood the risks, especially given his complications. Unavoidable was this unnecessary pain that comes with a patient's loneliness and family's helplessness in the last moments. I call for hospital mgmt. to be humane. Don't make any family live through this."

Niharika Sharma, who lost one of her relatives due to Covid-19 said that a provision needs to be in place where the family can meet their loved ones in ICUs. "This should be made a fundamental right. My aunt died due to Covid-19 and none of us could talk to her. It is horrible for a family member to go through something like this. If it was the last time that we would be seeing our aunt, then we would prefer it beside her bed and not outside," she said.

Narrating a similar ordeal, Priyanka, whose father was admitted at Mata Chanan Devi Hospital said that even though they could enter the ward wearing PPE kits, they were not allowed to see their father. "I understand the risks that come with it, but there should be a way through which we can communicate with our loved ones. If they are not in the condition to talk then will this be the last time we get to speak to them," she said with eyes full of tears.

Dr Gaurav Luthra, an eye surgeon at a Dehradun hospital said that there should be a setup in place so that families could see and talk to their loved ones. "Inability to reach out to your loved ones in ICU especially in their dying moments needs urgent redressal. Hospitals can deploy counselors in ICU to set up video chat of patients with loved ones daily and in last moments," he said.

Sometimes, under difficult circumstances, it becomes hard to make the patients speak to the family. While making a patient talk to the family is not a big deal, but in critical care, it becomes quite difficult," a nursing staff from AIIMS said, on the condition of anonymity.