Covid-19: Can infection spread from hospital’s psychiatry ward ? If it happens, how grave is the risk ?

— By Dr K K Aggarwal

678: Can psychiatry wards spread COVID infections ?

A: Placing no hand sanitizer on the hospital’s psychiatric ward for fear patients would drink it; making them sleep together on futons in communal rooms and the windows sealed shut to prevent suicide attempts — all conditions can be a perfect environment for the rapid spread of a potentially deadly virus.

679: Is there an example ?

This scenario was reported last month by the UK newspaper The Independent, it was the reality in the psychiatric ward of South Korea’s Daenam Hospital after COVID-19 struck. Eventually health officials put the ward on lockdown, but it wasn’t long before all but two of the unit’s 103 patients were positive for the virus.

680: What is is the answer ?

Staff at an Israeli hospital have created what they describe as the “world’s first” dedicated COVID-19 unit for psychiatric inpatients.

Clinicians at Israel’s national hospital, Sheba Medical Center Tel HaShomer in Tel Aviv, believe the 16-bed unit, which officially opened on March 26, will stop psychiatric inpatients with the virus — who may have trouble with social distancing — from spreading it to others on the ward.

681: What is the risk ?

In a psychiatric ward, a patient who is COVID-19 positive can also be psychotic, manic, cognitively impaired, or have poor judgment…making it difficult for that patient to keep social distancing, and very quickly you’ll have an entire ward of patients infected.

682: What is the public health issues and how were they tackled ?

How to prevent a single psychiatric patient who is hospitalized and COVID-19-positive from making everybody else sick.

Adapting an existing psychiatric ward to one exclusively used by inpatients with COVID-19 required significant planning, coordination, and modifications to ensure the well-being of patients and staff.

First, the ward’s air conditioning system was re-engineered to separate it from the hospital’s main system. A dedicated entrance for the exclusive use of infected psychiatric inpatients was also created.

Two-way television cameras in patients’ rooms were installed to facilitate a constant flow of communication and enable therapeutic sessions and family visits. All of these modifications were completed in under a week.
Under normal circumstances, we have cameras in the public areas of our wards, but in order to respect people’s privacy, we do not have cameras in their rooms.

In this specific ward, on the other hand, they put cameras in the rooms, so if a patient needs to be watched more closely, it could be done remotely without exposing staff to the virus.

Protective personal equipment (PPE) and clothing for staff was tailored to the unique challenges posed by the ward’s patient population.

With this in mind, all personnel working on the ward must put on an extra layer of PPE as well as a tear-proof robe. The institution has also implemented a strict protocol that dictates the order in which PPE is donned and doffed.

683: Why do now the medical students fear handling the three cult communities ?

A: they are afraid that they will not follow the medical advice about COVID, MDR infections and MDR TB and will spread the infections in the community

The Indian Ministry of Home Affairs has written to states and Union Territories asking them to investigate Rohingya-Tablighi links stating that Rohingya Muslims and their contacts may need to be screened for COVID-19.

The letter says that it has been reported that Rohingya Muslims have attended ijtemas and other religious congregations of Tablighi Jamaat and there is a possibility of their contracting COVID-19. Rohingyas living in camps in Telangana’s Hyderabad had attended Tablighi Jamaat ljtema at Mewat in Haryana and had visited the Nizamuddin Markaz in New Delhi.

684: Who are Rohingya people ?

Are a stateless Indo-Aryan ethnic group who predominantly follow Islam and reside in Rakhine State, Myanmar (previously known as Burma).
Rohingya population is denied citizenship under the 1982 Myanmar nationality law.
They are also restricted from freedom of movement, state education and civil service jobs.

685: who are Tablighi Jamaat ?

Is an Islamic missionary movement that focuses on exhorting Muslims and encouraging fellow members to return to practising their religion as it was practised during the lifetime of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, and particularly in matters of ritual, dress and personal behaviour.

686: What is Shincheonji, Church of Jesus ?

The Temple of the Tabernacle of the Testimony (SCJ), commonly known as Shincheonji Church of Jesus or simply Shincheonji is a Christian new religious movement established on 14 March 1984 in South Korea by Lee Man-hee.
The religious group is known for being secretivee; adherents believe that the group’s founder Lee is with the returned Jesus Christ and that the Holy Bible is written in secret metaphors which only Lee can correctly interpret.

In 2020, the group became the center of controversy during the 2020 coronavirus pandemic in South Korea, in which the coronavirus disease 2019 spread in Daegu. The disease spread among Shincheonji’s members and thousands of others; the refusal of the group’s founder and senior leaders to get tested, citing their religious beliefs to privacy, resulted in a national outcry against the group, and prompted the Mayor of Seoul, Park Won-soon, to file a lawsuit.

((The writer is President, CMAAO, HCFI and Past national President IMA))