MADURAI: In a bid to relieve the burden on the Government Rajaji Hospital (GRH) and allow it to focus on COVID-19 patients with comorbidities or severe symptoms, asymptomatic patients are now being treated at the Government Hospital for Thoracic Medicine (GHTM) in Thoppur.
Speaking to The New Indian Express, GRH Dean Dr J Sangumani, who is also the Chairman of the COVID-19 Management Committee, said the hospital in Thoppur started taking in asymptomatic patients about four days ago. "As of Tuesday, 17 asymptomatic COVID-19 patients, including a 15-year-old girl, have been admitted to the hospital," he said.
He said that only asymptomatic patients without any comorbidities and below 40 years of age are being admitted to the hospital at Thoppur. "The step was taken to reduce the viral load in the GRH and segregate asymptomatic patients from the symptomatic ones. Through this arrangement, the hospital staff will be able to take care of sick COVID-19 patients and those with comorbidities with more attention," he said, adding that the arrangement would also ensure ready availability of beds to accommodate more patients when there is a surge in infection.
It was in the first week of April that GRH was declared one among the 18 dedicated COVID-19 hospitals in the state, following which COVID-19 patients as well as patients with ILI and SARI were shifted to the exclusive, four-storeyed, 400-bed super speciality block of the hospital. At the super speciality block, patients from Madurai and Virudhunagar districts were treated till mid-May.
At this juncture, the Department of Health and Family Welfare, in a government order dated May 4, said that mild/pre-symptomatic patients having the requisite facility at his/her residence for self-isolation will have the option for home isolation.
However, Collector TG Vinay had earlier told the media that GRH would continue to treat all COVID-19 patients, irrespective of symptoms, since there were adequate bed facilities at the hospital.
Sources at GRH said that despite the change in institutional isolation protocol, GRH continued to treat asymptomatic patients also because of the infection scare among the locals in the neighbourhood and the social stigma faced by COVID-19 patients when they are at home during the infection period. "To avoid travel hassles due to referral, patients who are natives of other districts are also being treated at the suiper specialty block at present if they test positive for the infection in Madurai," they added.
Following a change in the guidelines some three weeks ago, patients from Virudhunagar are now being treated at the Government Hospital in Virudhunagar.
Though the Government Hospital for Thoracic Medicine in Thoppur is a dedicated COVID-19 Health Centre (DCHC), Dr K Senthil said that for now, it only serves as a COVID-19 Care Centre (CCC) to treat asymptomatic patients "Currently, the hospital has 150 beds earmarked exclusively for COVID-19 patients and it could be increased to 200 when required."
More centres to come up
With a consistent spike in COVID-19 cases in the district, official sources said that plans are afoot to establish more CCCs for mild/asymptomatic cases in colleges, schools, hostels and to set up DCHCs in Primary Health Centres and taluk hospitals.
Commenting on this, Collector TG Vinay said the district administration has identified and kept various college hostels including Meenakshi Nursing College Hostel ready. "Similarly, we have earmarked a block at Railway Hospital. When the need arises, we will utilise them," he added.