24 COVID-19 hospitals for dozen Corona patients in Valley
Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, May 6: The outbreak of Coronavirus has led to breakdown of the healthcare system in Jammu and Kashmir with COVID-19 centric administration designating over two dozen main hospitals in Kashmir for COVID management when only around a dozen Corona patients at present needed hospitalization.
There are 678 positive cases of COVID-19 in Kashmir and 7 out of them have died. As per the doctors, they didn’t die of Corona but were having comorbidity that led to their death. There are over 400 active cases in Kashmir and doctors say out of them only a dozen need hospitalization as others are mostly asymptomatic or have mild symptoms.
Dr Mohammad Salim Khan, HoD, Community Medicine Government Medical College Srinagar told Excelsior that 96 percent of the Corona positive cases in Kashmir have either no symptoms or have mild symptoms.
Dr Parvaiz Koul, Professor and Head of Internal and Pulmonary Medicine, SKIMS says that majority of Corona patients don’t need hospitalization at all. “They can be kept in home isolation and there are ICMR guidelines for that. Only 4 percent need hospitalization”, he said.
Irfan Ahmad Sheikh, 21, from worst hit village of Heerpora in Shopian who was discharged from the hospital after recovery last week told Excelsior that he was asymptomatic for Corona throughout last month.
“I tested positive for COVID-19 on April 8 and was taken to hospital. I was absolutely normal with no symptoms. I was not given any medicine or treatment during my stay at hospital. After testing negative for COVID-19 twice, I was discharged”, he said.
Dr Koul said that COVID-19 is not deadly and, in fact, it has less mortality rate in Asia as compared to other viruses but only difference is that it spreads.
Government has notified 24 major hospitals of Kashmir for COVID-19 management when only around two dozen COVID-19 patients needed hospitalization since March this year. These hospitals include District Hospital Bandipora, private nursing homes, Associated hospital GMC Anantnag, Associated hospital GMC Baramulla, JNLM hospital Srinagar, District Hospital Pulwama, Kashmir Nursing Home, District Hospital Ganderbal, District Hospital Shopian, CHC Kupwara, Sub-District Hospital Sopore, Trauma Hospital Bijbehara, District Hospital Kulgam, District Hospital Budgam, JVC SKIMS Bemina, SKIMS Soura, SMHS hospital Srinagar, CD Hospital Srinagar, GB Pant hospital Srinagar, Super Specialty hospital Srinagar, Lal Ded Hospital Srinagar and Bone and Joints Hospital Barzulla Srinagar.
At least a dozen senior doctors told Excelsior that the hospitals, except Lal Ded Maternity Hospital in Srinagar, are empty as people refrain from visiting them due to fear of Coronavirus. The Casualties are empty and hardly few patients visit the Emergencies of the hospitals. The routine surgeries have been stopped and hardly any admissions are taking places.
The president of Doctors Association Kashmir (DAK), Dr Nisarul Hassan, said that hospitals are not meant for quarantine, they are meant for treatment. “The COVID patients who need hospitalization need to be admitted and rest should be sent home for quarantine”, he said.
Although there is no data available but several senior doctors told Excelsior that there has been spike in the non-COVID deaths in Kashmir during lockdown and those with chronic illnesses have developed complicacies due to lack of treatment. They said that people don’t want to come to hospitals as there is fear of getting Corona infection and the private hospitals have also stopped giving consultations to patients.
These doctors said that maximum doctors and health staff is sitting idle in hospital as patient inflow is very less. “These doctors are either sitting at home or have no work in the hospitals. Only a dozen COVID-19 patients at present need hospitalization and entire health sector has been made hostage”, they said.
In Ganderbal district there were 14 Corona cases and all have recovered and new samples taken for last few days are all negative. Eighty samples for COVID-19 taken yesterday from Ganderbal tested negative today. But the Ganderbal hospital is designated COVID-19 hospital and patients don’t want to go to the hospital for treatment.
They said that the insensitivity of the doctors and lack of proper directions from administration can be gauged from the treatment the woman who delivered a baby at Lal Ded hospital in Srinagar met with. The woman was referred from Achabal to LD hospital by chain of referrals and finally tested positive after delivering baby at the hospital.
From Achabal, she was taken to MCH Anantnag where she was not attended at all and was shifted to SKIMS, Bemina and from where she was shifted to Lal Ded. “The lady belonged to a Red Zone in Anantnag and should have been treated locally or SDH Bijbehara and in worst case at SKIMS Bemina. The woman put the whole Lal Ded hospital at risk”, said a senior doctor.
Follow our WhatsApp channel
