Private hospitals turn away patients as Covid cases surge

Private hospitals turn away patients as Covid cases surge

Not Enough Ventilators At Many Places

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:03.04..2021

Fresh cases of Covid-19 are rising and many private hospitals in the city have been turning away patients in the last two days.

With 7,161 active cases, hospitals in Chennai are chock-a-block. In some cases, patients are being turned away because there aren’t ventilators or facilities for high-flow nasal oxygen.

On Friday, the state website showed that all 130 oxygen beds at Billroth Hospitals in Shenoy Nagar were occupied as were 40 Covid beds at Kauvery Hospitals. More than 90% of beds in Gleneagles Hospital and Apollo Hospitals, Greams Road, were also occupied. “We redirected some patients to other hospitals this morning. They were symptomatic and could need high flow oxygen, but all our beds were taken,” said Dr Subramanian Swaminathan of Global Hospitals.

Smaller hospitals and nursing homes, which were admitting patients with moderate illnesses, have also begun turning patients away. Representatives from many private hospitals said they were increasing the number of shared accommodation within the hospital and advising home isolation for young and asymptomatic patients.

Government hospitals, which have recorded a spike in admissions, said oxygen and ventilators requirements have increased substantially over the last one week. At Omandurar Multispeciality Hospital, which has about 550 beds, nearly 350 patients are on oxygen therapy. “About a quarter of patients exhibiting severe symptoms also require ventilation,” said dean Dr R Jayanthi. At Kilpauk Medical College and Hospital, of the 100 in-patients, nearly 35 are on oxygen support, while others are senior citizens or patients with comorbid conditions requiring institutional care. “Our oxygen requirement has gone up compared to last year,” said dean Dr Vasanthamani P.

But over the last one year, almost all government hospitals in the city have increased their oxygen capacity by nearly five times. “While doctors and paramedical staff at hospitals are exhausted, they have the infrastructure to take more patients,” said director of medical education Dr R Narayanababu.