‘Admit only moderate and severe patients’

Director of Public Health issues instructions to private hospitals; also asks for bed availability info to be displayed at the entrance

People waiting in a queue to register their names at a free COVID-19 testing centre set up on the premises of Fever Hospital in Hyderabad on Tuesday.

vate hospitals treating COVID-19 patients have been directed to admit COVID-19 patients with moderate and severe symptoms only. Mild and asymptomatic cases having oxygen saturation at room air of more than 94% are recommended to be kept in home or institutional isolation in COVID Care Centres, said Director of Public Health G. Srinivasa Rao in guidelines issued recently.

“All private hospitals are further directed to keep a display board at the entrance, furnishing updated details of availability of regular beds, oxygen beds and ICU beds (ventilator/CPAP) on real-time basis,” Dr Srinivasa Rao said.

The senior official advised them not to wait or ask for COVID test result to admit patients with moderate or severe symptoms. The guidelines have been issued in the wake of a sharp surge in cases over the past few weeks.

As cases continue to increase in the State, there will be more severe cases. This means an increasing number of people would need critical medical attention.

The State government has opened COVID Care Centres, which are listed according to districts in the daily media bulletin. Besides, some major corporate hospitals have started isolation or quarantine facilities at hotels. People who can spend high amounts and wish to stay away from family after testing positive for the virus are opting for the service.

If mild and asymptomatic cases occupy beds in hospitals, it becomes challenging to arrange one for patients with moderate and severe symptoms. In fact, as major government and corporate hospitals are full, attendants of severe COVID-19 patients have been posting SOS messages across social media platforms for leads on bed availability.

In desperation, many people make the rounds of several hospitals within a matter of hours, hoping to find a bed for someone requiring critical care. Citizens and health volunteers have pointed out that the State government website ‘health.telangana.gov.in’ does not have dynamic data on bed status. Displaying bed status outside hospitals could be of some help, they believe.