|
|
|
| Sunday, 17 July 2005 |
 |
|
 |
Features |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
|
Leading a
normal life
by Ranga Chandrarathne
Over 24 million people are living with HIV/AIDS. Nine out of every ten are adults in their productive and reproductive prime. Most are workers - the mainstay of families, communities, enterprises and economies. There is still no cure, but prevention does work. It's difficult to talk about sexual behaviour and personal risk, but the silence and denial that surround HIV/AIDS encourages the spread of the virus.
Though the general perception of communicable diseases has changed, the societal predjudice on AIDS and those who live with HIV has not changed. This is due to the misinformation, misconception and myths associated with the disease. As in many other conventional societies, the subjects of sex: education and safe sexual behaviour do not come up for discussion within Sri Lankan families and schools. So, children, particularly, teenagers and adolescents largely depend on secondary sources of information such as cheap trash and blue films in VCD and DVD form. This intransigent attitude coupled with the age-old pseudo value system that stigmatises any communicable disease, inhibits HIV or AIDS patients from coming into the limelight to lead a decent social life. It is a major factor that prevents effective control, spread and prevention of the disease in Sri Lanka. A special service caring for HIV/AIDS patients operates at the National Hospital of Colombo. A dedicated team of well-trained medical personnel headed by a Consultant Physician mans the Operation. The hospital is well equipped with special surgical tools to handle the patients. "The HIV/AIDS patients are susceptible to various infections that are called Opportunistic Infections. These infections under normal conditions do not occur in people who have good immunity. With these conditions often they need to be treated as in-ward patients. We have been admitting these patients over a period of 12 years," says the Consultant Physician Dr. Ananda Wijewickrema who is in charge of the Operation.
"It is very important to have a well-equipped laboratory to diagnose the disease and treat patients promptly. This is the biggest set-back that the hospital suffers. We have to depend on the private sector for basic necessities. However, the plus point is that the hospital has a dedicated nursing staff. Though they have no training in managing HIV patients, nurses have been caring for them for years. "Most HIV/AIDS patients suffer from the disease which is sexually transmitted, while a few are through blood transfusion which has been transmitted to their spouses as well. There are patients who opt to stay with us in the hospital. We also try to educate family members of patients, while treating them. This will ensure that the patient gets proper care at home and it will also help minimise myths associated with the disease". The Government has a duty to provide proper facilities for HIV / AIDS in hospitals, and society should also ensure that HIV/AIDS patients get proper and equal treatment at home. Dr.Ananda also said that he is determined to have a social dialogue on the issue. The nursing staff engaged in infection control, who have served for more than three years, said that they had no difficulty in treating patients in the hospital. The situation becomes complicated when we send patients to other hospitals, for various tests. However, the Deputy Director, National Hospital Colombo, Rani Fernando informed that the hospital authorities have adopted a policy that HIV/AIDS patients should be treated with other patients in normal wards, without revealing their identity to the other patients in the ward. "There were some instances where family members of the patients were not even informed of the disease, and family members came to know of it only after the patient's death," she said. Facilities are provided for the relations of the patients to keep the bodies in the hospital until such time of final rites at the cemetery. Dr. Wijewickrama emphasised that after serving in the hospital for two years, he had seen many patients being cured and leading near normal lives. Thanks to the latest development in treating the disease, now HIV can be contained and suppressed, and patients could lead longer lives. However the consultant expressed his disappointment over the improvement of the hospital standards, despite his efforts to do so. Dr. Ananda appealed to the public to treat HIV/AIDS patients equally. The media could also play a role in eliminating the myths that AIDS could spread through sharing personal belongings like plates and by touching. An HIV positive patient who had to undergo this horrible experience, explains his situation: "I was diagnosed HIV positive ten years ago. I had to resign from three jobs as a result. The social stigma was unbearable, even my very close relations left me, and I had no money to survive. There were some instances where I dug into rubbish bins to look for food. I then began working with organisations that help HIV/AIDS patients. I now lead a contended life". |
|
| News | Business | Features
| Editorial | Security
| Produced by Lake House |
It is high time for all HIV/AIDS patients to come out into the open to
protect their rights and lead a normal life. A host of local and
international Organisations have come forward to care for HIV/AIDS patients
and protect their rights. Medical professionals and the organisations
working on AIDS would like to lend a helping hand to those helpless people
out there. 
"There is a lot of discrimination and stigmatisation often due to the
poor understanding of the facts. At the beginning, even in this hospital,
the staff refused to take care of the patients, but now the situation has
changed for the better. As the staff is now sensitised to the patients and
have a good knowledge of HIV/AIDS, work goes on smoothly," said the
consultant. 
