NEW DELHI: Despite the government increasing beds in Delhi hospitals to keep up with Covid-19 cases, beds are filling up fast as patients are coming not only from the city but also from the NCR and neighbouring states. “The situation is very bad and too grim to describe. Hospitals are running full and we have to return patients, even those who are coming from Uttar Pradesh or Haryana.
They are travelling quite a distance and those approaching us are mostly critical cases. They have to be put on ventilators or in ICU beds. Although we are not keeping any exact data on outside patients yet, the figure is quite high,” said a top official from a state-run Covid facility, on condition of anonymity. The situation is similar in private hospitals.
Dr K K Talwar, chairman, PSRI Heart Institute said that there is a surge in NCR belt. “Apart from NCR, there are also patients from UP and Haryana. Although, it’s difficult to comment on how many patients have been admitted from other states versus NCR in the absence of data. Perhaps more patients are from NCR,” he noted.
Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, another premier facility in the city, also sees patients across the NCR and neighbouring states, said Dr SP Byotra, chairman of department of mobile medicine. “We have not calculated on how many patients have come from other states but the figure is certainly high, even compared to last year surges. Most of them are older and in severe condition. The arrival of patients increased suddenly from April 3,” he said.
Last year, the Delhi government had ordered bed reservation in state and private facilities only for the city residents which was later withdrawn after much criticism. An RTI filed last year by the correspondent had revealed that nearly 24% of total Covid deaths in Delhi till November were from other states.