Rural hospitals warned of referring Covid-19 patients to GMCH without giving primary treatment

Aurangabad, April 10:

The Central Government team today expressed concern over the growing practice of referring Covid-19 patients to the Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) by the rural hospitals and other hospitals from the district.

The team held a meeting with GMCH doctors to review the status of Covid-19 patients. The team observed that the GMCH is a tertiary care hospital. Indeed the deaths of Covid-19 patients had taken place here, but the ratio could be reduced if the hospitals from rural parts of the district refer the patients after giving primary level treatment. The ratio of referring the patients to GMCH is high. Prior to referring the patients, the hospitals (of tehsil-levels) should provide oxygen or give injections or put him on saline to stabilise the health condition. Hence the present practice of referring patients (in the ambulance) to GMCH should be stopped and the head of the hospitals should take appropriate and immediate measures in this regard. GMCH doctors apprised the team about the training imparted to health personnel from the rural areas.

The meeting was attended by Dean Dr Kanan Yelikar, Dr Sudhir Chaudhary, Dr Suresh Harbade, Dr Varsha Rote, Dr Meenakshi Bhattacharya, Dr Prabhakar Jirvankar, Dr Jyoti Iravane-Bajaj and others. The team obtained details on the total number of beds reserved for COVID patients, ICU beds, beds with ventilators etc. They also reviewed the availability of oxygen, Remdesivir injections and the functioning of Virus Research and Diagnostic Laboratory (VRDL).

The team stressed the dire need of providing all medical facilities required to the patient after admission in the hospitals for Covid-19 treatment in the rural sector. Prior to referring a patient to the GMCH, he/she should be given primary treatment for at least two hours including oxygen with a speed of 10 litres per minute.