With the prevalence of dengue and other fever cases not coming down, Government Rajaji Hospital here has set up a new ward with 230 beds since Wednesday, primarily to treat fever cases.
The new ward has been set up at the erstwhile Obstetrics and Gynaecology ward, which has been shifted to the new Comprehensive Emergency Obstetric and New Born Care (CEmONC) building.
According to hospital sources, the new ward would help in better monitoring of fever patients and efficient deployment of staff. “As a large number of people are getting admitted, we are accommodating them in different wards. Now a majority of them can be admitted at one place,” a senior doctor said.
According to him, around 450 patients are getting treated for fever and platelet count, of which nearly 50% of them are below normal.
Senior hospital officials said that special teams had been formed with doctors, postgraduate students of Madurai Medical College and students on Compulsory Rotatory Resident Internship (CRRI) to treat the patients. “We hope the number of fever cases comes down. However, we are prepared even if the number goes up further,” the senior doctor said.
Child dies
Meanwhile, V. Bharathivel, aged around three, son of an advocate residing in Yagappa Nagar, died at a private hospital here on Thursday, in a suspected case of dengue.
Health department sources said the boy was admitted three days back for treatment of fever. Following the death, Corporation officials have intensified mosquito breeding control activities in the area, including door-to-door checks.
Awareness programmes to prevent breeding of dengue-causing mosquitoes was also organised in different places in the district. Minister for Cooperation ‘Sellur’ K. Raju, along with Collector K. Veera Raghava Rao and Corporation Commissioner S. Aneesh Sekhar, took part in a campaign in Solai Azhagupuram.
A dengue review meeting was conducted at the Collectorate in which Mr. Rao distributed cell counters to all primary health centres to help in speedy identification of platelet count.
