HYDERABAD: Two years after the first Covid-19 infection was confirmed in Telangana, Gandhi Hospital has emerged as the only hospital in India, and probably Asia, that has discharged 85,000 patients in these over 730 days, or roughly 117 Covid-19 discharges per day. The hospital had admitted its first Covid-19 patient on March 2, exactly two years ago when an IT professional working in Bengaluru had returned home following a visit abroad and tested positive for the deadly virus.
He was admitted to Gandhi Hospital on the day and discharged after testing negative. Since then, 85,000 people have been successfully treated at the hospital and discharged.“It is nothing short of a feat as to the best of our knowledge, this is the only hospital in Asia to have treated so many patients. In fact, not only did we handle Covid-19, but also conducted thousands of surgical procedures across departments saving many non-Covid patients as well,” said Gandhi Hospital Nodal Officer Dr. T Prabhakhar Reddy.
He explained that the hospital specialised in conducting Covid-19 positive deliveries, some of them high risk. “We conducted 6,000 Covid-19 positive deliveries and also discharged 1,500 Mucormycosis-affected patients. Over 5,000 dialysis procedures were also done, showcasing how specialised Covid-19 treatment was offered in the hospital,” he said.
The hospital also saw tremendous infrastructure boost in these two years, with the addition of nearly 500 ventilators for patients. Its oxygen capacity was also ramped up two-fold. Earlier, one Liquid Medical Oxygen tank of 26 KL capacity existed, which has been bolstered by six new Pressure Swing Adsorption (PSA) plants of 2 to 6 KL capacity each.
The hospital also added nearly 300 staffers in the form of patient care staff, nurses, doctors, etc. “After facing three waves, the hospital has put in place a robust system which can ensure that it will be in the forefront for any future pandemic. The systems and infrastructure have been enhanced with such capacities,” said Dr. Prabhakar Reddy.
However, not all developments were positive. The hospital did lose many patients but not all deaths have been categorised as Covid-19 deaths by the in-house panel of doctors appointed to do so. Amongst the hospital staff, three deaths and over 2,200 in-house infections were recorded.