THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Outpatient wings at hospitals across the state are bursting at the seams. The number of patients coming in with fever has rose five-fold within a month. Reports from districts indicate a 30-50% rise in the number of patients visiting OP wings.
The surge has irked patients, who are demanding better facilities in hospitals, as well as doctors, who are worried about manpower shortage. Prolonged waiting times for getting treatment at hospitals have also left both patients and doctors dissatisfied.
According to the Kerala Government Medical Officers’ Association (KGMOA), which has been urging the government to appoint more doctors during the fever season, particularly on a temporary basis, it has become common practice to extend OP hours to accommodate the growing rush of patients. However, this is an unhealthy trend, it said.
“Doctors do not get enough time to treat patients properly. The patients too are left dissatisfied with the rushed treatment,” said KGMOA president Dr T N Suresh. He said there was a limit to how much doctors could work and provide proper medical advice.
“If the patient load continues to rise, it will lead to a severe shortage of manpower,” Suresh said. At present, there are only 6,165 sanctioned posts for doctors under the Directorate of Health Services. Though there are more doctors in the private sector, nearly half of the state’s patient load is directed to government hospitals.
In this scenario, KGMOA has demanded that the government ask the Local Self-Government Department (LSGD) to utilise its funds to appoint medical and paramedical staff on a contract basis during the fever season. The government issued similar orders in 2017 during an identical situation.
“The growing number of dengue and leptospirosis cases has sparked concerns. Total fever cases will be much higher. If this continues, the number of patients will be more than double in the next two to three weeks,” said Dr Althaf A, an associate professor at Thiruvananthapuram Government Medical College. This will raise the number of hospital admissions and patient load in medical colleges, he said.
Health minister warns of viral fever outbreak in July
Stressing the importance of flu preventive measures, Health Minister Veena George has said that there is a possibility of a viral fever outbreak in the state in July. She cautioned that the hospital system may struggle to handle a sudden influx of critical patients.
Veena on Thursday held a meeting with Local Self-Government Minister M B Rajesh and General Education Minister V Sivankutty for coordinated action among health, LSG, and education departments.
The education department has agreed to strengthen its activities in view of the increasing number of influenza cases among students. A health assembly will be held in all the schools on Friday to raise awareness about communicable diseases.
“Schools will also be included in the health department’s hotspot inspection. Health workers will visit educational institutions to give guidance. If more than five students in a class are having fever, the matter should be reported to the health department,” said Veena.
Worrying numbers
June 22
Fever patients in OP - 13,409, IP 163
Dengue cases - Suspected 282, confirmed 53
Dengue deaths - 1
Leptospirosis - Suspected 8, confirmed 7
70-year-old man dies of dengue
Kollam: Dengue fever claimed the life of a 70-year-old former school principal from Kollam on Thursday. Ajay Babu from Kottarakkara passed away at KIMSHEALTH Hospital in Thiruvananthapuram. He had served as principal of Sree Narayana Central School in Ezhukone. Thiagarajan, a ward member of Kottarakkara and close friend, said Ajay had undergone major heart surgery a few months back.
“On Monday (June 19), he developed a mild fever and experienced breathing difficulties and sought treatment at Vijaya Hospital in Kottarakkara on June 19. However, his condition continued to worsen. He was transferred to KIMSHEALTH Hospital two days ago, where he breathed his last on Thursday,” Thiagarajan said.