NALGONDA: While some people leaving their elderly parents, and their humanity, in old age homes has long been known, of late, there has been an increase in the number of incidents of some abandoning their responsibility in government hospitals.
While the reason could be financial constraints or plain selfishness, the fact is that this act of depravity is creating problems for patients reaching the Nalgonda district government hospital.
The 600-bed hospital receives around 1,200 patients daily, of which 100 to 120 are admitted for treatment. Due to the high patient load, hospital authorities often arrange extra beds in available wards. However, some people admit their elderly parents and leave without even arranging an attendant for them, making it difficult for the already understaffed hospital to provide individual nursing care.
Hospital authorities revealed that when they call the contact numbers provided at the time of admission, the children refuse to respond. In some cases, the children deny any relation and disconnect the call. Some sons pass the responsibility to their sisters, while daughters insist their brothers take care of the parents.
Bhimanapalli Srikanth, Seva Bharati (a voluntary organisation) coordinator, told TNIE that the elderly patients refuse to be discharged, fearing physical harm from their children if they return home.
These abandoned patients survive by begging within the hospital premises and the free breakfast provided by the Lions Club. In Suryapet, an orphanage named Annapurna Anadha Ashram shelters such individuals, but they can be sent there only with police permission.
These elderly patients are victims of their children in other ways too. An elderly woman from Domalapally village was abandoned by her three sons soon after she transferred her 21 acres of land to them. It took police intervention for the sons to take her back.
‘Son grabs my old-age pension every month’
An elderly woman TNIE spoke to tearfully revealed that her son takes her old-age pension every month but does not care for her. Despite this mistreatment, she refused to file a complaint against him, saying, “I just want him to be happy.”
Hospital superintendent Dr Aruna Kumari confirmed that five to eight such cases are reported every month. Many elderly patients recover but remain in the hospital as their families refuse to take them back.
The lack of beds in the hospital forces authorities to discharge patients, but when no relatives come to pick them up, police intervention is required.
The police use the contact numbers provided at the time of admission to trace family members and conduct counselling before handing over the elderly patients, Dr Kumari said.