Curious case of COVID test reports going missing at Gandhi Hospital

Hyderabad: The test reports of a man from old city area of Hyderabad have gone missing for the fourth time after he was tested at the Gandhi Hospital. With a travel history to Delhi, he was tested first on 2nd April and then on 4th, 9th and 12th of this month. The issue was brought to light after it was taken up by MBT (Majlis Bachao Tehreek) leader and social activist Amjed Ullah Khan.

“The man visited Gandhi on April 2 and was tested for COVID-19. He was tested thrice after that. I am told the hospital authorities informed them that the reports have gone missing. The worried family called me from the hospital. They are still not sure if he is COVID positive,” Mr Khan said.

Heavy sample load

Meanwhile, a senior doctor from Gandhi Hospital told NewsMeter, there is no possibility of a test report going amiss. He says it could be a case of delay due to heavy sample load. “Every day in Gandhi alone we test hundreds of samples. Because of that there is a delay in getting the test results,” he said.

Delay in testing

COVID-19 suspects are not alone in complaining about delay in test results, even patients of the disease in Gandhi Hospital have aired similar concerns.

One of the patients who is admitted along with his father said, “Including my father there are three patients who have been here for 13 days now. As per protocol, the samples need to be sent for second round of testing 12 days after the first one. But that hasn’t happened in their case. Yesterday a nurse tried to take blood from me thrice. I don’t know what the purpose was. Our queries with them just go unanswered. I will be completing 12 days by tomorrow.”

The patient further alleged the staff at Gandhi are reckless and do not care to respond to their questions or complaints. “When we complain regarding electricity or cleanliness they never respond. In fact the staff here use un-parliamentary words at us. We feel like we are being treated like criminals,” he added.