The country’s top medical institute performed 2,753 surgeries and provided consultation to 61,000 patients in the same period. (Express Archive)

From March 25 to June 10, as many as 15,480 non-Covid patients were attended to at the emergency department and 11,637 were admitted at AIIMS, as per data provided by the medical institute.

The country’s top medical institute performed 2,753 surgeries and provided consultation to 61,000 patients in the same period, and 2,678 Covid-19 patients were admitted at the institute’s JPN Trauma Centre and NCI Jhajjar. On an average, around 800 coronavirus-infected patients were at AIIMS daily.

The country’s top medical institute had shut its OPD services on March 18 and sent an advisory to OPD patients on their registered numbers, requesting them to postpone their appointments. From March 20, the hospital curtailed elective surgeries and a screening area was opened for patients with symptoms of respiratory tract infections. Since then, the institute has been providing tele-consultancy services to all patients undergoing treatment at the hospital.

Emergency services in the hospital are also operational to cater to crucial cases during the lockdown.

“Not only Covid but even non-Covid patients are treated by the team of our doctors during the season. From admissions to providing tele-consultation, the healthcare workers from our institute have been doing a commendable job. The staff has been regularly trained,” said AIIMS chief spokesperson Dr Aarti Vij, adding that many Information, Education and Communication (IEC) materials have also been prepared by the institute.

For instance, the IRCH cancer centre of the institute that deals with critical care patients has been working incessantly for the last few months. With staff divided between Covid and non-Covid patients, the department of medical oncology has been putting its best foot forward to provide treatment to the patients. On an average, the staff, including resident doctors from the department, voluntarily make calls to around 100 follow-up patients who are queued for the treatment.

Dr Lalit Kumar, head of medical oncology, said, “We have patients who require chemotherapy, radiotherapy and other diagnostic procedures which can’t be delayed. Even now, the department is carrying out two-three transplants in a month and around 60 patients are getting chemotherapy every day.”