Patient from Delhi charters down to Silchar for treatment; admitted to Green Heals

The sorry state of health care infrastructure in Barak Valley gets reported every now and then. But in the ocean of sad stories, an air ambulance comes as an island of accomplishment. Many air ambulances took off from Silchar Airport with a patient in critical condition. For better treatment, patients fly down to different parts of the region. Some die on the way while few return healthy. But yesterday, it was the other way around.

At around 11:30 in the morning on Friday, an Air Ambulance landed in Silchar airport with a patient. Chaya Roy, a 74-year-old resident of CR Park, New Delhi deboarded from the air ambulance and was rushed to Green Heals Hospital in Silchar. She suffered stroke 15 days back and was admitted to Vidyasagar Institute of Mental Health and Neuro and Allied Sciences (VIMHANS) Noida. As the number of COVID cases surged in Delhi and NCR regions, the healthcare system started collapsing.

Four days back, Chaya Roy was discharged from the hospital though her condition was not stable. Her daughters started making calls and eventually after speaking with Dr. Tanushree Gupta decided to fly down to Silchar. With her two daughters, Chaya Roy chartered down to Silchar and is now under treatment at Green Heals Hospital.

Rudra Narayan Gupta, director of the hospital and the president of Ramanuj Gupta Trust said the patient is currently stable. “Chaya Roy is under Dr. Tanushree Gupta’s treatment. The medical team is optimistic that in the next seven days, the patient will start showing signs of recovery,” informed Gupta.

“When it comes to diseases that do not need a surgical intervention, we are at par with any metro region in the country,” Rudra Narayan Gupta.

Gupta also informed that the patient happens to be a relative of Dr. Tanushree Gupta. Chaya Roy is a Dementia-patient and had suffered a stroke a few years back too. She also has hypertension and is diabetic. Because of the complications, the family wanted her to be under medical supervision and thus they chartered down to Silchar.

All three of them who deboarded the air ambulance had got their RT-PCR tests done and carried their negative reports along with them. “The patient is showing no symptoms of COVID19. Clinically she is stable. Yet, we have collected her sample for an RT-PCR,” informed Rudra Narayan Gupta.

A family that can afford an air ambulance could have navigated through turbulence and landed at any airport across the country. But they trusted Silchar which marks a new beginning for medical tourism in the region, albeit in desperate times. Patients from Agartala, Manipur, Mizoram, and parts of Bangladesh visit Silchar frequently for treatment at various government and private hospitals, but this is the first time an air ambulance landed with patient in search of better treatment.

“When it comes to diseases that do not need a surgical intervention, we are at par with any metro region in the country,” opines Rudra Narayan Gupta. He adds, “Yes when it comes to surgical interventions where you need Cath Lab, or in the case of open-heart surgery or neuro-surgery, we lack infrastructure and expertise.”