BENGALURU: Even while the health department has directed only moderate to severe cases of Covid-19 patients be admitted in hospitals, asymptomatic patients are still filling up the beds in some cases, say doctors. This is happening even while there are home isolation and Covid Care Centres guidelines and infrastructure in place.
“Mild and asymptomatic patients who are less than 50 years old with no co-morbidities can either get home-quarantined or sent to a CCC. This should be done to reduce load on hospitals and ensure beds are available for patients who need oxygen. However, we are getting a lot of BBMP admission referrals wherein the patients are stable and do not need to be in the hospital,” a Covid-19 duty doctor from a private hospital said on the condition of anonymity.
“BBMP itself is sending these patients with admission references and then it cracks down on hospitals taking those admissions. For hospitals, asymptomatic patients are easy money with no extra work. It is like running a hotel and BBMP is aiding this by not training their staff properly and not monitoring them,” the doctor added.
A few doctors told TNIE that some asymptomatic patients are referred by ministers, MLAs or other influential people and these requests cannot be denied. “BBMP refers patients who are not too old, are without co-morbidities and do not suffer breathlessness. There seems to be confusion. These asymptomatic cases only have mild fever, cough and cold.
Once the bed is occupied, it cannot be used for serious cases for the next 10 days. We need to use our resources more efficiently,” said a consultant physician of a corporate hospital. BBMP Commissioner N Manjunatha Prasad said that the guidelines are clear and that officials and hospitals have been given instructions. “We made it clear that those with mild or no symptoms will be sent by the BBMP staff and the triage team either for home isolation or CCC. Hospital beds must be reserved for patients with complications,” he said.