BHUBANESWAR: The State Government may have allowed private hospitals to admit COVID-19 patients in view of the rapid rise in cases but the picture on ground is completely different. If you are tested positive for COVID-19 and can afford treatment at a private hospital, you still won’t be able to exercise your choice, thanks to the bureaucratic paraphernalia.
The State Government, which is spearheading the entire testing and treatment procedures, is not handing out the COVID positive patients their test reports. As a result, patients going to private hospitals for treatment are not admitted.
Even if a patient is tested positive at a Government lab, he has to undergo one more test at a private lab to get admitted in private hospital. Else, he has to wait for the mercy of the local administration to be shifted to a COVID hospital, irrespective of the severity of the disease.
“Things are easier for those who are opting for private labs as they are provided test report, which eventually facilitates the procedure for admission in hospital. But it is cumbersome for the individuals, who are routed through the local administration for undergoing the Government process of testing. They are not provided any test report and the intimation is done by phone. The patient, thus, is left in the lurch,” sources said.
Sources said, earlier the people were being intimated through system generated SMS whether they are positive or negative, but it was stopped following some mis-communication.
Even as the health authorities insisted that the officials entrusted with the task to intimate people on the test result are also responsible for coordinating with private hospital if the patient chooses. But, private hospitals still cannot admit patients on the basis of verbal confirmation only.
What is even worse is the Government has no data on how many private hospitals in the State have set up Covid units nor availability of beds in them despite passage of a fortnight since it issued instruction asking them to designate at least 10 per cent beds for coronavirus patients.
While private hospitals in Delhi, Chennai, Bengaluru, Mumbai and other cities update the availability of beds and facilities on a daily basis, no such mechanism has been developed in Odisha.
Additional Chief Secretary of Health department PK Mohapatra said there should not be any issue for people willing to avail private care.
“We are upgrading the system and people will receive SMS as earlier soon. They can show it to get admitted in private hospitals,” he said and added that private hospitals have been asked to update the department about bed strength and other arrangements.