Amid a steady decline in new coronavirus cases and a marked improvement in vaccination coverage, the Indira Gandhi Medical College and Research Institute (IGMCRI) on Monday formally ended what has been a lynchpin role as a designated COVID-19 hospital since the pandemic outbreak early last year. The institution, which discharged its last remaining coronavirus patient, will henceforth entirely focus on non-Covid services.
The IGMCRI will now function in a full-fledged manner for non-Covid patients, whose access to regular care had been cut back through well over a year in order to accommodate fluctuating loads of coronavirus cases, and also revive from near total disruption the access of MBBS students to medical education facilities.
The IGMCRI, along with Jipmer, had been the fulcrum of the administration’s round-the-clock toil to turn around the tide in pandemic management and significantly bring down both the mortality and morbidity related to COVID-19. However, at the same time, even after the IGMCRI gradually resumed badly-affected non-Covid services after the pandemic situation improved, it was found that regular patients were hesitant to make a hospital visit for fear of contracting an infection, a health official said.
Though the Health administration had issued an order on August 17 on the suspension of Covid admissions at IGMCRI in accordance with the instructions of Chief Minister N. Rangasamy, a few patients whose critical condition prevented their relocation to the Government Hospital for Chest Diseases (GHCD) or Jipmer. Since August 17, the IGMCRI had initiated a process of moving out inpatients to either of these hospitals.
“We still had about 25 COVID-19 patients who were too sick to be shifted out. With the last of the remaining patients discharged, the IGMCRI will henceforth deliver non-Covid services,” G. Sriramulu, Health Director said.
At present, COVID cases requiring hospitalisation are being admitted at the ramped-up Government Hospital for Chest Diseases (GHCD), Gorimedu, and Jipmer with the latter serving as a referral centre for the seriously ill. As of Monday, of the 106 hospital patients, 59 were in Jipmer, 18 in GHCD and one in an intermediate Covid care centre.
Meanwhile, the Health department said that against the backdrop of a declining Covid infection load, the premier dedicated Covid hospital in Puducherry will resume functioning as a full fledged medical college with immediate effect.
“No Covid patients are under admission at present. The institution will be treating non-Covid patients only,” the department said.
The Health department noted that there was heightened awareness among the general public of Covid appropriate behaviour and a large proportion was fully vaccinated. Moreover, hospital admissions have come down and all Covid treatment facilities have been established in the GHCD. The department appealed to the public to make use of the IGMCRI for all non-Covid services henceforth.
