CHENNAI: As the city’s government hospitals are running out of beds due to an explosion of COVID-19 cases of late, asymptomatic and stable patients are now being shifted to the corporation’s quarantine facilities.
This will make adequate beds available for critical and co-morbid patients who may need supportive treatment.
Dr Narayana Babu, Director of Medical Education, who is in charge of bed facilities, said 73 stable COVID-19 patients from Stanley Medical College Hospital were shifted to a quarantine facility in DG Vaishnav College on Sunday.
“There are 1750 beds for COVID patients in the Chennai government hospitals. Close to 1200 beds have become full,’’ says Dr Babu, who is also the Dean of Omandurar Medical College.
In the past few days, hospitals have upped their beds by at least 500 by taking up other wards and expanding to new buildings to accommodate more patients.
Dr Babu said that 270 beds are occupied in the Omandurar hospital out of the 500 beds available while 190 are occupied in Stanley out of the 400 available beds now. “We would only be shifting asymptomatic patients who are below 55 years of age with no co-morbid conditions, after doing a detailed study,’’ said Dr Babu.
He added that close to 60 percent of stable patients from Omandurar may be shifted soon to institutional quarantine facilities.
The sudden influx of cases from Royapuram and Thiru-vi-ka Nagar has increased the number of patients in Stanley and RGGGH. “There are 366 stable patients in RGGGH and we would look at shifting 100 to 150 of them in the first phase by today,’’ says Dr R Jayanthi, dean of the hospital.
The Chennai Corporation currently has a capacity of 4,000 beds across the city, including 600 in the Trade Centre, 120 in Vepery Veterinary College, 42 in Bharathi Women’s Arts College and some more beds in Loyola College and DG Vaishnav.
Health department officials say that asymptomatic patients do not require much treatment. “One doctor and adequate nurses would be appointed in these facilities for observation. Mental health experts too will be available,’’ said a health department official. He added that patients in COVID care facilities will be monitored once a day and shall be discharged if they don't show any symptoms for 14 days.
Dean of Kilpauk Medical College Dr P Vasanthamani said the hospital has 320 patients at the moment and 40 could soon be discharged.
“Shifting is not just putting a patient elsewhere. It means moving the hospital itself to another place. So we have to ensure all the medical equipment, thermometers, PPEs are transferred,’’ says Dr Vasanthamani.
She said patients would only be transferred to institutional quarantine after they are consulted. “We will ask them if they have any problems in being transferred. 25-30 people may be shifted in the first phase once the corporation gives us details of available quarantine facilities,’’ she said.
Meanwhile, the Special Nodal Officer for the Chennai corporation to tackle the COVID-19 crisis, Dr J Radhakrishnan, said people will get a non-hospital feel in the COVID care centres. “Many patients ask why they are being kept in hospitals when they have no symptoms. These people will get a non-hospital feel in the care centres,’’ he said.
Dr Radhakrishnan said officials are ensuring that the care centres are ready with equipment and food supply. He added that more facilities would come up soon.