HYDERABAD: The Petlaburg Government Maternity Hospital, where six PG students were tested positive for Covid-19, is heading towards acute staff crunch, as only 10 PG students, also called junior doctors, are available on call. According to reliable sources, after the six tested positive, 30 staffers have been sent into isolation and their test results are awaited.
As is the case of most government hospitals, PG students handle a large chunk of patients in Petlaburg. “With the new developments, we have to figure out how to attend emergency and high-risk cases. Recently, we have been getting many referral cases, which will also have to be planned out, as we’re facing a staff crunch,” said an official.
It is also learnt that with a majority of cases being referred from district facilities to tertiary hospitals like Koti Maternity, Petlaburj Maternity and Niloufer, there’s a mounting pressure on these hospitals. “The number of cases being dealt with is very high. Several non-emergency cases have also been coming in, despite advices against it. This has made it hard for us to manage the crowd as a majority of patients come in with at least four to five bystanders, including children,” said another official.
The staff crunch has also led to doctors at isolation wards working at other wings, like the labour room, operation theatre, and others. “What we have learnt is that the number of isolation beds in the Gynaecology Department are limited. Further, a PG doctor is not stationed at one wing for the whole day due to the high number of cases, and on the same day, is shifted from the isolation to the emergency room or the operation theatre,” added Dr Vishnu KUN, president of Telangana Junior Doctor Association (TJUDA).