VIJAYAWADA: The district administration is now facing another problem as people with lung-related issues are getting themselves admitted to Covid-19 hospitals, which are already brimming with patients.
“Since the past week, many who underwent CT scans for lung-related and respiratory problems have been getting themselves admitted to designated COVID hospitals at Ibrahimpatnam and Chinna Avutapalli,” Krishna district collector A Md Imtiaz told TNIE on Saturday.
As per the guidelines issued by the state health department, people testing positive for the coronavirus should be admitted to such hospitals only on the basis of sample testing report given by virus research and diagnostic laboratories (VRDLs). A majority of people with breathing problems get themselves diagnosed at private labs. On if the administration will initiate any action against the labs, Imtiaz said all private labs in the city have necessary authorisation and follow standards prescribed by the ICMR.
"We are suggesting the public not to panic. It is not advisable for them to undergo CT scans as it may cause unnecessary health complications. The procedure is recommended only to diagnose certain diseases/infections,” he said. The collector added that the issue would be taken to the notice of special chief secretary (health) KS Jawahar Reddy before issuing necessary guidelines.
On the delay in relaying of reports of sample results to patients, the collector maintained that around 20 people working in labs have tested positive, forcing the administration to close the facilities for at least two days to disinfect them. “A total of 2,00,420 samples have been tested so far. On an average, 5,000 samples per day are being tested at iMASQ and Sanjeevini mobile labs in rural areas. Around 4,215 sample results are pending and they will be processed in the next couple of days,” Imtiaz said.
A source in the health department said as people with other health complications are being treated at New GGH, a state Covid-19 hospital, only 50 of the total 800 beds there are vacant. COVID patients in Krishna district are being treated at New Government General Hospital (GGH) in Vijayawada, Pinnamaneni Siddhartha Institute of Medical Sciences (Chinna Avutapalli), NIMRA Institute of Medical Sciences (Ibrahimpatnam) and COVID Care Centre (Gudavalli).
As many as 600 of the 625 beds at Pinnamaneni Siddhartha Institute of Medical Sciences, 600 of 650 beds at Nimra Institute of Medical Sciences and 35 of the 200 beds at the COVID Care Centre are vacant. Due to the steady increase in the coronavirus spread, the administration has decided to set up a 250-bed COVID Hospital on the premises of the district hospital in Machilipatnam and a 60-bed quarantine facility at Varalakshmi Polytechnic College.
Steps are also being taken to arrange pulse oximeter for each bed at the COVID hospital to come up in Machilipatnam. Meanwhile, officials maintained that the district administration has adopted a ‘five-formula’ policy, which includes maintenance of COVID Care Centres, preparedness of hospitals and ramping up of sample testing, to slow the spread of Covid-19.