CHENNAI: Even as cases are stabilising in Chennai, many neighbourhood medical clinics and mid-tier hospitals are still to begin operations. This has deprived many residents, including those with comorbidities, of routine medical consultations with their family or neighbourhood doctors.
This has also forced many residents to queue up in the Corporation’s UPHCs or fever camps, while in some cases the Government hospitals, further overburdening the institutions.
G Jayakanthan, a resident of Thiruvottriyur, says that he had to go to the government hospital for an insulin injection for diabetes, as his regular clinic has been closed in his area for three months now.
"I waited and waited. It seems the clinics are not going to open any time soon. It was a horrible experience at Stanley to get even a token as it is over crowded," he said.
Similarly, S Banupriya of Tondiarpet, another diabetic faced the same ordeal as she was made to wait for long in the Corporation’s Communicable Diseases Hospital in Tondiarpet for a shot of insulin. "There’s only one big Apollo hospital open here and all smaller hospitals are shut, including the regular clinic I visit. This is very hard," she said.
While small clinics and mid-tier hospitals are yet to begin operations, doctors on the other side face the heat for opening clinics.
While the city corporation has set up fever camps, as many residents are used to going to their regular doctors who know their conditions, they say that fever camps do not help as they just give vitamin or paracetamol tablets there.
On condition of anonymity, a diabetologist, with 20 years of experience, at a clinic in Old Washermenpet, says that he was threatened by the Chennai Corporation to be booked under the Clinical Establishment Act if he didn’t shut down his clinic in April.
He has not been functioning since then. "They said the clinic is crowded and too many people are coming. But, we have been following all social distancing norms and have also pasted a sticker saying ‘Covid symptoms will not be treated’. Yet, the Corporation did this," the doctor said.
The doctor questions, "People come for consultation for many reasons. If Corporation closes all the clinics, where will people go?"
While the 'highhandedness' by civic bodies is sited on one side, on the other side, some hospitals are voluntarily not taking in patients over concerns of patients having Covid-19.
State President of Indian Medical Association Dr C N Raja says that he has received so many complaints from doctors over the Corporation and revenue administration sealing hospitals for no reason.
"We held discussions with the Director of Public Health on this issue on Tuesday and the IMA is in full support of all the smaller clinics and hospitals functioning, with necessary precautions," he told Express.
Dr Raja said that only if the smaller health care institutions begin treating Non-Covid patients will the burden on the bigger hospitals reduce.
"We have also given all protocols to the hospitals like following social distancing, limiting out-patients, not using AC and providing hand wash facilities," he added.
However, medical association members raise some challenges in some smaller facilities functioning.
Dr G Ravindranath of Doctors' Association For Social Equality (DASE) said while it is wrong for civic administrations to threaten doctors with the Clinical Establishment Act, doctors too need to take precaution while treating patients as community spread is real.
"When small clinics are open, doctors, especially those above 60 are at risk. The government has not provided any PPEs for the doctors to run their hospitals or clinics as well," said Dr Ravindranath. He said that it is hard to stop overcrowding in smaller healthcare institutions.