Anwar Hasan could neither sit nor stand. He lies down in a mat in the crammed isolated ward of the Ernakulam General Hospital. A red kit beside him is full of devotional books which he reads religiously. He has been lying in the same place for the past two years.
Anwar who belongs to Karnataka was selling lottery tickets before he was completely paralysed. His mother and two siblings in Karnataka have abandoned him. Sad to say, all the 40 other patients in the isolation ward have a heart-rending story to share.
The ward has become a place where people tend to abandon their suffering and helpless relatives. Except a boy who was mentally deranged and brought from an orphanage, all the rest have a kith or kin. “The story could have been different if the relatives had some financial backing to look after them. They hardly come to visit and offer comfort,” said K J Peter, one of the volunteers who turn up at the crack of dawn to help them out.
The inmates suffer from cancer, HIV and even mental problems. While some are unhappy over the turn of events, others have accepted it stoically and most are very old and require assistance. Vijayan from Thiruvananthapuram seeks money for his bus fare to Thiruvananthapuram government hospital for further treatment.
The only solace is that the patients get food four times a day as part of the dietary kitchen project. Various voluntary organisations help them buy medicines. “But that is not enough,” said a source with the hospital.
Last week, there was a patient who was left unattended by relatives but after much furore, he got a bystander and was shifted to a ward. Dr Annie P G, hospital Superintendent, said that they were doing their best to help. “It would be helpful if the government builds a substitute home for them,” she said.
District Collector P I Sheik Pareeth confirmed that the number of patients in the isolation ward was increasing. “The district administration has put forth a scheme to build a separate ward for them. Though we have allotted two acres, we are waiting for the funds,” he said.