The vulnerability of Gandhi Hospital

With thousands of patients and their attendants present, it is not the right choice to house an isolation ward

March 04, 2020 08:19 am | Updated 08:19 am IST - HYDERABAD

Police outside the isolated block of Gandhi Hospital where a COVID19 patient has been quarantined.

Police outside the isolated block of Gandhi Hospital where a COVID19 patient has been quarantined.

Police personnel are deployed at Gandhi Hospital only when there is possible law and order situation. Such as, attendants attacking doctors, protests by various sections of the hospital etc. Though there was no law and order situation at the tertiary care hospital on Tuesday, police were seen staying put near the main building.

Patients and their attendants were seen moving around with different types of masks. Some wrapped towels, scarves, hand kerchiefs around their nose and mouth. The COVID-19 patient, a 24-year-old software engineer, has been admitted in an ICU located in the second floor of the hospital’s Emergency Block.

Also read: Panic grips colony where COVID-hit techie stayed

Entry into the main building is restricted to ‘coronavirus suspects’ who are directed to the Isolation Ward located in seventh floor. On Tuesday, many people suspecting that they have the virus, visited the isolation ward and gave their samples for tests.

Considering that there are thousands of patients and their attendants, sources in the hospital said that COVID-19 ICU has to be shifted from Gandhi Hospital. “Despite our repeated requests, attendants do not move away from the ICU as other In-Patient wards too are located in the same building. It would be wise to shift the facility to a remote corner of some other hospital where not many people visit,” sources said.

In fact, Telangana Health Minister Eatala Rajender on Tuesday afternoon announced that a hospital will be earmarked exclusively for COVID treatment. During discussions, it was mentioned that if any of the patients suffer from multi-organ failure they would need services of multiple medical specialists, who are available at Gandhi Hospital. “A final decision on this will be taken in two days,” sources said.

Also read: Seven test negative for COVID-19

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.