The Congress on Saturday demanded that the Telangana government establish an integrated help desk for people suspected to be suffering from COVID or other diseases to avoid confusion in seeking the services.
“Confusion on admission of patients with COVID issues is leading to delay and sometimes death as well much before treatment is started and the government should immediately address this issue,” said Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) treasurer Gudur Narayana Reddy.
In a statement here, he said that several deaths have been reported in Hyderabad in the last few days, wherein hospitals refused to admit patients, especially those with COVID symptoms. “This is my personal observation and people should be briefed that presently only a few private hospitals, approved by the State government, are admitting only the confirmed cases of coronavirus,” said Mr. Reddy, who is undergoing treatment for corona at a private hospital.
“Even approved hospitals are reportedly hesitating to admit patients with COVID symptoms. In many cases, patients are being denied admission due to non-availability of ICU beds or ventilator facility,” he said.
Therefore, he said that the State government should establish a help desk, headed by a panel of senior doctors, to guide people during health emergencies. He added that the help desk should have complete information on availability of beds in both government and private hospitals in real time mode and this would save many lives.
Mr. Reddy also demanded that the State government should authorise private hospitals to send samples of patients for testing to any ICMR approved laboratory. “This will save a lot of time and reduce the burden on Gandhi Hospital,” he said.
Further, he said that the government should ensure widespread availability of pulse oximeters in the market so that patients can easily check their oxygen levels and pulse rate and can immediately approach the doctors if the levels drop below normal.