A COVID-19 patient being treated at Ario Wirawan pulmonary hospital in Salatiga, Central Java, has reportedly fled the facility.

The patient, identified as a 68-year-old man, is a resident of Blotongan subdistrict in Sidorejo district, Salatiga.

Ario Wirawan medical care chief Hasto Nugroho said the patient had been admitted on Friday. 

“The patient was confirmed with COVID-19. He fled his room on Saturday,” Hasto said on Wednesday as quoted by kompas.com. 

“In general, the patient was in stable condition as he was no longer on an IV. That Saturday, the patient was waiting for his X-ray and blood test results. However, in the afternoon, we discovered that he was no longer in his room,” he added.

Hasto went on to say that the patient was set to be discharged from the hospital soon because the doctors had received the result of his second polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test.

In handling the case, the hospital coordinated with the Salatiga COVID-19 handling and economic recovery committee, the Salatiga Health Agency as well as Salatiga Police.

“We’ve also communicated with the patient’s family because, at the time being, we have no clue of his whereabouts. We hope the patient will be able to complete his treatment,” said Hasto, urging all COVID-19 patients to remain patient during treatment.

Separately, a psychiatrist at the Dr. Koesnadi Bondowoso Regional Hospital (RSD) in Bondowoso regency, East Java, acknowledge that COVID-19 patients fleeing from hospitals was among the many challenges healthcare workers faced. 

Psychiatrist Dewi Prisca Sembiring said it was not easy to handle COVID-19 patients who also struggle with mental illnesses.

“Our most recent COVID-19 patients had a mental illness, so it was quite tricky,” she said on Wednesday.

She explained that the two were schizophrenic and their treatment had been challenging because of the hospital’s limited isolation space.

“We relocated one of the patients to a different facility, but then they fled,” she said, adding that the patient was still milling.

At the hospital, COVID-19 patients are first placed under the care of a pulmonologist or internist. However, as soon as those specialists find that a patient has mental health issues, they will consult with a psychiatrist. 

Wearing a protective suit, Dewi said she would need 15 minutes to one hour to converse with a patient as part of the treatment while maintaining a 2-meter distance. In a regular setting, each COVID-19 patient would only have a maximum of 15 minutes for such a treatment. 

“It is not enough to talk to a patient in 15 minutes. So, I usually end up spending about one hour with them,” she added. (nkn)

 

Editor’s note: This article is part of a public campaign by the COVID-19 task force to raise people’s awareness about the pandemic.