CHENNAI: Covid patients queuing up at the King Institute in Guindy to get admitted while refusing to go to other government hospitals has worried health department officials.
Their wait for admission since as early as 5 am could result in a delay in treatment, the officials fear. Some patients are ready to wait for even two days to get admitted at the exclusive Covid hospital at King Institute.
On Thursday, the hospital almost ran out of beds. As per data from the Directorate of Medical Education, of the total 525 beds, 479 had been occupied till evening on the day.
A woman, who was waiting to get admitted at the institute, was told that the beds were almost full as many people were already waiting before her. She still managed to get admitted through her contacts.
She refused to go to Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital (RGGGH), where 1,618 beds were vacant.
In another case, a man, whose grandmother had taken a Covid test, wanted to wait for the results as King Institute admitted only confirmed Covid patients.
He refused to admit her at the RGGGH, which has a separate ward for suspected patients, thus delaying treatment for the woman.
Dr R Narayana Babu, Director of Medical Education, said, people should make use of other government facilities as well.
“We still have plenty of beds. In Chennai alone, there are 10,568 beds in government hospitals. Among them, only 1,943 were filled on Thursday. They should not delay treatment by waiting to get admitted at King Institute,” he said.
Another senior doctor pointed out that when it comes to all critical care management, the RGGGH is the mother of all institutions.
“Any patient with comorbid conditions can be treated there as the hospital has all specialties,” he said.
People prefer the King Institute because it is a new building and the premises is clean and well-maintained.
Some even prefer Government Omandurar Medical College Hospital, which has set up an exclusive Covid-19 hospital, he said.
He noted that many other government hospitals have dedicated new buildings for Covid treatment.