Covid patient escapes from SMCH; Police, healthcare worker traces him at home in Tarapur, transferred back

45-year-old COVID patient broke a particle-board partition and ran away from Silchar Medical College and Hospital’s Covid ward today morning. Resident of Tarapur Mazumdar Bazar, the 45-year-old resident went straight to his home after escaping from the hospital.

Family sources informed that the patient was transferred to SMCH after he was suffering from shortness of breath. His samples tested negative on RAT and so he was admitted to the SARI ward in SMCH. A day later, that is yesterday, he was shifted to the Covid ward after testing positive on RT-PCR. He has complications in his lungs and his oxygen saturation level is below 80%. The patient is weak and he was crying most of the times.

“Today morning, we got to know that a patient has broken the particle-board wall and escaped from the hospital. We immediately informed the same to Police and asked them to look into the matter,” informed Dr. Bhaskar Gupta, vice principal of SMCH. Gupta added, “We called his number and his family members informed that he has reached home. We made it clear to them that he has not been discharged but he has ran away from the hospital.”

Soon in charge of Tarapur Police Outpost and his team traced the Covid patient. Healthcare workers rushed to the spot with an ambulance. Though he resisted initially but eventually agreed to go back to the hospital.

The man stays in a village area and though they have a oximeter at home, his saturation level is too low for the healthcare officials to allow him home isolation. However, what remains uncertain is why he ran away from the hospital in such a weak condition. His family members said that he was unhappy in isolation inside the Covid ward where he wasn’t even allowed to take his mobile phone.

This is the second patient to have escaped from the hospital. The other patient was a resident of Karimganj.