No long waiting lines at entrance of Base Hospital, prioritization aimed at saving maximum lives: Army

The Army on Wednesday said that there are no long waiting lines at the entrance gate of Base hospital, Delhi Cantt and separation of patients who require urgent medical intervention from those whose treatment can be delayed by some time is purely a medical decision and is being done because the hospital is receiving patients much in excess of its capacity.

The Army said in a release that efforts are being made to enhance the capacities and the capacity of the hospital was enhanced from 340 beds (including 250 oxygenated beds) to 650 beds (including 450 oxygenated beds) in end April 2021. "Work is in progress to enhance capacities to 950 oxygenated beds by May 2021," it said.

"We must appreciate that the BHDC is operating under tremendous capacity constraints. Prioritisation is being done with the sole aim of saving maximum lives," it said.

India is witnessing a surge in COVID-19 cases in third wave of pandemic putting stress on medical facilities.

The release said all personnel, whether serving or veterans, and their dependents are guided to the Reception Centre by the administrative staff.

"There are no long waiting lines at the entrance gate of BHDC. At the reception, an immediate triaging takes place by qualified medical officers who then segregate the patients based on the severity of their diseases. The triage does not take more than 5-10 minutes. Based on the recommendations of the medical officer, the patients are either advised home isolation or sent for further admission."

It said that for patients told to isolate at home, ready-made medical packets have been made for them to take home, along with adequate consultations.

The waiting line inside the reception is due to capacity constraints of the hospital in general. The unprecedented situation in NCR, the very high number of patients seeking medical assistance and the refusal of ECHS empaneled hospitals to treat the veterans add to the overload in the hospital.

In order to manage large number of personnel, a token system has been created which does not differentiate between anyone on the basis of their rank or serving status. The token system assists in better management of patients.

The waiting line inside the reception may sometimes be long because no patient meriting medical attention and admission is refused. The personnel ahead of a waiting individual are also serving persons, veterans or their dependents only who need equal medical assistance. The idea of separate waiting lists for different categories cannot be implemented since all lives are equally valuable.

The release said all constructive criticism and suggestions are being taken note of and concurrent steps to enhance medical care are being implemented.

( With inputs from ANI )