Symptomless patients’ homestay to save hospital beds: Rajesh Tope

PUNE: State health minister Rajesh Tope on Tuesday said asymptomatic patients would not be admitted in hospitals in Pune and Mumbai, considering the inadequate number of ICU beds and the likely surge in the number of cases in the coming months.

The minister said strict instructions had been issued to the medical staff to ensure adherence to Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) guidelines, which allow for home isolation of asymptomatic patients.
“In Mumbai and Pune, there is a need for enough allocation of ICU beds as a surge in cases is expected in the coming months. So, it is imperative that asymptomatic patients who do not have any issue continue to stay isolated at home and follow the quarantine measures rather than occupy the beds in the hospital,” Tope said.
He said they were planning to ramp up the number of beds to 1 lakh from the present 60,000 in Mumbai itself. “In Pune too, meeting has been held with the private sector to avail of 80% of their beds.”
On the state’s wait for ICMR clearance on pool testing, the minister said at present, there were no instructions. “According to ICMR guidelines, less than 2% of the total tests conducted should be positive for pool testing. The state’s percentage of positive cases is more than that at present. I have been following on the matter but ICMR is yet to approve pool testing in the state,” the health minister said.
With the state government touching over 3,000 cases in a single day, Tope said the numbers were expected to rise. “What is more important is to concentrate on controlling deaths, for which patients with co-morbidities should be attended to early. Instructions have been issued to all municipal commissioners to ensure that there is enough surveillance to check for any symptoms and co-morbidities, especially among senior citizens,” he said.
Divisional commissioner to step up surveillance
Pune divisional commissioner Deepak Mhaisekar on Tuesday pledged more surveillance to arrest Covid-19 death rate.
He said an assessment of 264 deaths had shown that nearly 90% of these patients had co-morbidities. On the mortality rate at the Sassoon hospital, Mhaisekar said the mortality rate had peaked during April. However, it was true that more critical patients were getting admitted in Sassoon than other hospitals, he said.
As of May 26, of the 125 critical patients, 47 are admitted in Sassoon hospital. The divisional commissioner also warned private doctors or hospitals of proceedings under MESMA act if they failed to cooperate with the administration.
Seeking help of nurses returning from Middle East
Malayalee nurses from the Middle East, who are being forced to return to India, may soon find jobs in the health sector in Pune and Mumbai, with Pune divisional commissioner already in talks with the World Malayalee Council to act as a nodal agency to address the shortfall of medical staff in Pune. “The talks have been initiated to check the possibility of these nurses coming to the state,” said TP Vijayan, global vice-president of the World Malayalee Council.
President of its Pune branch Harinarayan told TOI that they were also roped in to persuade the Malayalee nurses who had put down their papers in various hospitals in Pune after being assured that these nurses would be provided with all safety equipment.