LETTER | Elderly care challenges for public health during epidemic

LETTER | I am prompted to write about the traumatic experience of my sister Henretta Fernandez in a public hospital to highlight the challenges of treating the elderly in the current Covid-19 situation.

Henretta or Rita, 82, was admitted in early March because she had lung congestion. On March 3, we learnt that she had tested positive for Covid-19, but had mild symptoms.

As there were no beds for Covid-19 patients in the said hospital, Rita was sent to another public hospital the same day.

Since family visits are not allowed for Covid-19 cases, we had to rely on the hospital for news of Rita’s progress. I called the second hospital several times during her stay to find out how my sister was doing and was told she was alright and eating well.

Rita was released on March 10, and the discharge letter signed by the doctor states that she is fit to work. But when our brother-in-law went to pick her up, he had a rude shock.

Rita was too weak to stand, and her body and neck were twisted from lying in bed possibly for the whole week. She had also developed bed sores.

Questions abound about what happened to Rita when she was at the hospital. How did she become so weak if she was eating well as the hospital said? Why did her posture become bent and twisted? Why did she develop bedsores?

But the first thing to do was to help Rita recover her strength and attend to her bedsores. Rita has been admitted to another hospital in Petaling Jaya and is being treated there.

There the doctor found Rita to be extremely dehydrated. She will also require physiotherapy to regain a normal posture, otherwise, her twisted position may be permanent.

It is very distressing to see Rita in such a condition in her advanced years especially because she had selflessly served others all her life.

She had worked for the Sisters of the Poor as a staff member. Whenever a family member needed assistance, Rita was always there.

When a neighbour or friend asked for help, she would not say no. Through her work with different communities, Rita became proficient in several languages - English, French, Malay, Tamil and Hokkien, besides Malayalam, her mother tongue.

We would expect the authorities to explain to us how Rita came to be in such a poor condition while under their care.

Beyond that, what conclusions can be drawn from the investigation into how elderly patients should be handled under its Covid-19 protocol?

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.