Aids patient homeless , without hope
A former sex worker, battling for life at the terminal stage of Aids, was discharged by a private hospital two months ago and told to go die at home.
Except she had no home to go to, and chose to seek shelter in the Sanam Luang area. The Issarachon Foundation found her again in an emaciated state on the street.
“In fact, we got her admitted into hospital on March 30,” Natee Saravari of the Issarachon Foundation said.
Natee had gone to Sanam Luang that day to seek public opinion on the Homeless People’s Bill at Sanam Luang where he heard her cry for help.
“I carried her to a state hospital but was told to take her to a private hospital where she was entitled to free treatment under the social security scheme,” he recounted. “The private hospital then agreed to admit her.
Later, Natee heard that the private hospital treated her for about two weeks and then decided to tell her to leave.
“Your illness is incurable and you will live for no more than a month from now. Please go home,” a doctor there was quoted as saying. The doctor also told her that the hospital did not have any spare beds.
When Natee ran into her in Sanam Luang again, he contacted Wat Phra Bat Nampu, the Mercy Centre and another institution that provides care for people living with Aids. However, they all said that their facilities were full.
“She is now making do without medication, because she has nobody to take her to hospital,” Natee said.
Meanwhile, Aids Access Foundation director Nimit Tienudom said if the patient was given antiretroviral drugs regularly, complications from the HIV virus would reduce and she would be able to live longer, maybe even lead a normal life. He said he was planning to contact the Issarachon Foundation to find out if she could be given a caretaker.
Natee said that so far, no matter how many times she is asked, the woman would not give any details about her family.
However, he said, she doesn’t seem to be all alone in Sanam Luang, because at the very least, other homeless people have been giving her food and drink.
“From what I’ve heard from the locals, this woman does not hail from this area. She just showed up one day and had been sleeping on the streets for about two weeks before I first ran into her. She does not seem to have any belongings other than a bag of old clothes,” he said.
Natee added that though the woman has insisted that she does not want to be hospitalised and plans to die on the streets, he believes that the Public Health Ministry should provide some help.
“You can’t let a human being die on the street,” he said.
For help : Issarachon Foundation 02 9430690
