Role of pvt. hospitals in handling COVID-19 remains unclear

IMA to hold State council meeting today to discuss the issue

15/03/2020, SERENA JOSEPHINE M.,CHENNAI

Many private hospitals in the city have said there is no clarity about their role in handling the coronavirus disease (COVID-19). This is despite the State Health department announcing that it had held meetings with representatives of private hospitals and the Indian Medical Association, and that treatment protocols had been shared with them.

C.N. Raja, State president, Indian Medical Association - Tamil Nadu branch, said, “Private hospitals have not prepared isolation facilities so far. IMA is having a State council meeting on Sunday, and we will be discussing COVID-19, how we can handle [it], and cooperate with the government.”

In response to queries on their preparedness, at least three major private hospitals said that as per the Central government’s instructions, they are not supposed to divulge any information. A few said they had earmarked isolation facilities, while some doctors said they were told not to treat patients with suspected symptoms of COVID-19 but refer them to government hospitals. Many doctors said no proper guidelines or information had reached them. A doctor at a private hospital in Tambaram took to social media to air his concerns. The hospital, he said, had been receiving patients with classic symptoms of COVID-19 and travel history to the Middle East for the last two weeks. “We called the helpline numbers. They said they do not check persons with minor symptoms. The patients were sent home,” he said.

A senior consultant said suspected COVID-19 patients had been referred to the government hospital. “At the GH, they were not screened or tested. The government should test at least suspected patients,” she said.

Navin Gnanasekaran, associate director of medical services, MGM Healthcare, said they had identified an appropriate area for the isolation of patients with suspected/confirmed COVID-19, and were ready to attend to in-patients. He added that as of now, the government had directed healthcare professionals to identify patients with symptoms of cold/cough or fever and determine their travel history or contact with patients who had tested positive for the virus. In case of suspicion after assessment, they will call the government hotline, and based on the advice they receive, the patient will be sent home for quarantine or referred to the government in-patient admission facility.

A senior official of a corporate hospital said, “There are certain areas of concern. The lack of testing kits is one.” “We have procured about 5,000 full body suits, protective gear, long shoe covers and goggles. But if 10 to 15 patients come in, these will be exhausted within a week,” he said.