NEW DELHI: As per the latest guidelines of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), asymptomatic patients undergoing surgical/non-surgical invasive procedures should not be tested unless they develop symptoms. However, the doctors are of the view that this can complicate things, and thus, they prefer to test the patients before conducting surgeries despite the ICMR instructions.
“If a Covid positive patient is admitted routinely in the ward, it will infect the patients of the whole ward. If he/she is operated under general anesthesia by intubating, his saturation may worsen and revival may be a problem,” said a doctor working at the Safdarjung Hospital.
A similar observation was made at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), and doctors said that they are conducting the same procedure where Covid tests are a norm before any surgery. “We are testing all patients prior to admission or any surgical interventional procedure to decrease the spread. However, only those healthcare workers are getting tested who are symptomatic,” said an AIIMS doctor.
“Since it’s a mild variant, policymakers have decided to decrease testing to decrease the numbers of positive cases on record,” the doctor explained. According to the ICMR officials, it is not enforced on doctors. “We are not an enforcement agency, it is only an advisory. It is the doctors who have to decide. However, no surgery or treatment will be stopped because of lack of tests,” said Dr Lokesh, Scientist and Programme Officer (e-PMS) Division of Biomedical Informatics at ICMR.
At the Lok Nayak Hospital, the doctors are conducting tests of doctors, patients, and even the attendants of the patients. “It’s a huge risk if we don’t conduct tests before any surgery,” said another doctor.
Nursing officers asked to monitor private hospitals
The Delhi government has decided to deploy its senior nursing officers as nodal officers in private hospitals to monitor the management of Covid-19 patients along with the monitoring of the vaccination process. In an order issued on Tuesday, the health department relieved senior nursing officers from their hospitals with immediate effect and directed them to report to the private hospitals without waiting for formal relieving orders. The order stated that if any nursing person is retired or has been transferred, then replacements will be provided by the concerned hospital/institution.