The Trauma Care Centre of Government Rajaji Hospital, which is situated near the Collectorate, would soon be converted into a surgical COVID-19 facility, said Dean Sangumani.
Addressing the press here on Friday, he said, “Some of the patients who needed surgery test positive for COVID-19. So to accommodate them in a designated place where they could convalesce in comfort during quarantine, we have planned for the surgical facility.”
Apart from the 564 beds at the COVID-19 wing, 900 more beds had been made available at the GRH and Government Hospital for Thoracic Medicine in Thoppur. Currently, 614 COVID-19 positive patients were being treated at the GRH, he said.
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More doctors, staff nurses and health workers had been drafted for COVID-19 duty on Thursday. Now, 150 more staff would help the 272 employees currently on duty.
“On Friday, at the GRH main hospital, there were 952 inpatients and 2,694 outpatients, and 40 major surgeries, 30 minor surgeries and 50 deliveries were performed. Despite the workload due to COVID-19, we also have staff working round-the-clock at the main hospital, tending to patients who are sick,” he said.
On an average, the GRH sees around 500 deaths a month, excluding the present COVID-19 deaths. Of the 95 COVID-19 deaths, 70.8% of the cases had comorbidities, the Dean said.
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Treatment coordinator of COVID-19 speciality hospital and Tamil Nadu Government Doctors’ Association president K. Senthil said the GRH being a tertiary hospital, it dealt with patients with severe infection. “We get test results in eight hours and have quality medicines for the patients,” he said.
The Dean said patients must be confident and not panic when they get to know that they test COVID-19 positive as there have been over 1,000 discharges from the hospital and only a few deaths.