RTI: 798 patients absconding from Sewri TB hospital since 2013

With better counselling of patients, however, the drop-out and discharge against medical advice has reduced in the hospital. In 2016, 656 patients took discharge from the hospital against medical advice. The number dipped to 511 in 2017 and it stands at 341 so far this year. In 2015, 151 patients and in 2016, 163 patients went absconding from the hospital while getting treatment. In 2017, the number dropped to 115 run-away cases.In addition, five patients were abandoned by their family members in past five years, the RTI data shows.

In 2014, the number of absconding patients was 153 and in 2013, the number stood at 140. On Tuesday, the World Health Organisation (WHO) released its 2018 Global Tuberculosis Report that stated the infectious disease globally caused 1.3 million estimated deaths and 10 million new cases in 2017. India accounts for 26 per cent of the total burden, followed by Indonesia and Nigeria.

High drop-out numbers are also indicative of the risk of growing drug resistance among patients who do not complete the treatment. The WHO report that was released on Tuesday estimated that 5.58 lakh people globally are resistant to the first line treatment drug, Rifampicin, of them, India accounts for 24 per cent of the patients. The global numbers rose sharply due to reporting of TB cases from the private sector. In India, the WHO report said, funding to tackle TB tripled between 2016 and 2018.

According to doctor Lalitkumar Anande, the medical superintendent at Sewri hospital, the rate of absconding patients and those seeking discharge against medical advice has reduced significantly this year after the hospital took measures to keep patients entertained during the prolonged treatment period. “We noticed that patients often sought discharge because the hospitalisation period is long and they get bored. No relatives or friends visit the patients. We started the concept of ‘by their bedside’ under which we have introduced books, televisions and weekly bands to play music to keep the patients engaged,” he said. So far this year, 341 patients have taken discharge against medical advice and 76 went missing during hospitalisation, data shows.