VIJAYAWADA: All beds in the new Government General Hospital (GGH) in Vijayawada were full on Sunday with severe Covid-19 patients and those with mild symptoms were advised home isolation or referred to Pinnamaneni Siddhartha Hospital near Gannavaram.
The GGH, which had sufficient stock of oxygen till 2-3 days back, found itself in a tight situation with increasing number of Covid cases and fast depleting oxygen stock. The GGH authorities were forced to monitor the situation hour by hour.
The mortuary on the hospital premises is also getting filled at a faster rate than previous week with the number of Covid fatalities increasing day by day. In the 24 hours ending Sunday 9 am, Krishna district reported the highest number of 12 fatalities in the State.
TNIE came across a person anxiously waiting at an oxygen filling plant near the GGH to get a cylinder for his 26-year-old son affected with Covid-19 on Sunday morning and when it wanted to know why he is taking oxygen cylinder home instead of admitting his son to hospital, he said there were no beds in Covid hospitals.
“For the past three days, I ran from hospital to hospital looking for a bed for my son. But there were no beds. Finally, I took him to the GGH and the doctors diagnosed him of a mild case of Covid and advised home isolation as all beds in the hospital were allotted for serious cases,” said Md Shakeer Hussain, an old tyre trader in Autonagar, and also district president of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind.
Even if beds were available in some private hospitals, a middle class person could not afford as the price quoted for one-day treatment was high. However, he did not reveal the details of hospitals, which quoted high prices.
Hussain is spending Rs 5,000 per day for administering oxygen to his son in home isolation by engaging a private caretaker. “I am worried that oxygen might not be available as the demand for it has suddenly increased and supply is not adequate,” he said, adding that for that reason he was anxious about getting a filled cylinder.
Admitting that the situation at the GGH is grim, a highly placed source said unlike a few days ago, demand for beds has gone up, resulting in more oxygen requirement. There are around 600 beds (number is dynamic as a few extra beds are adjusted depending on demand and availability of staff) in the GGH and around 95 per cent of them are equipped with oxygen.
“At present we are only considering serious cases for hospital admission, particularly in the State-level Covid hospital in Vijayawada,” a senior official in the Medical and Health Department told TNIE.
Collector Imtiaz Ahmed, in a media briefing on Sunday night, admitted that Covid in Krishna district is very severe as the mutant virus strain, responsible for the second wave is highly contagious and spreading fast. Stating that the government on its part is striving to address the situation, the Collector sought cooperation from the public.
“Self restraint is key to combat Covid now. Let us adhere to Covid Appropriate Behaviour, including wearing mask, venturing out only if absolutely necessary and maintaining physical distance,” he said.
Urging people not to panic and rush to hospitals, he said first they should go to Covid care centre. If the case is serious, the patient will be shifted to hospital immediately, he said.
Earlier, during a video conference with Principal Secretary (Health) Anil Kumar Singhal, the Collector said out of anxiety, more and more people even those with mild symptoms are coming to government hospitals to get themselves admitted. A total of 42 hospitals in the district with 3,500 beds are providing Covid treatment and the admission to hospitals is being regulated through 104 and triage centres. In a meeting with six oxygen distributors, he urged them to ensure that there is no shortage of oxygen in the district.