Chief Secretary S.P. Singh has directed the Health and Medical department officials to designate the NIMS Superintendent as the nodal officer, and Gandhi Hospital as the nodal hospital for treatment of swine flu patients in the State.
In view of the increasing swine flu cases and related deaths, Mr.Singh conducted a high level review meeting with the Health officials on Saturday, and asked them to be alert and ensure that sufficient medicines were kept in hospitals.
Daily review
Daily review should be conducted, and medicines should be supplied free of cost. Wide publicity should be given about the disease to increase awareness, Mr.Singh said.
Patients from private hospitals, if diagnosed with swine flu, should be shifted to Gandhi hospital, he said, and issued directions for starting diagnostic facilities in Fever Hospital (Sir Ronald Ross Institute of Tropical and Communicable Diseases) apart from the Institute of Preventive Medicine.
Principal Secretary, Health, Rajeshwar Tiwari informed that sufficient medicines and kits have been provided in all district hospitals, and major hospitals in the city.
Sixty beds
Sixty beds have been allotted for swine flu patients in Gandhi hospital, with 20 ventilators and 24-hour services by pulmonologists.
Samples from districts and major hospitals are being tested within 24 hours at the IPM, he informed. The cases have risen to 99 in January this year, from nine in November and 31 in December last year.
A health bulletin on swine flu informed that a total of 197 samples were found to be positive in the current season from August 1 till January 27, and deaths due to swine flu complications were 12. On January 27, eight samples were found to be positive in a total of 76 tested.
