At the Alchemist hospital in Sector 21, Panchkula, on Thursday. Express photo by Jaipal Singh.

IN A chain of cases being reported positive from a private hospital of the city, another doctor — seventh to have tested positive from the same wing of the hospital — was reported positive Thursday.

Taking cognisance of the issue, three days after their first inspection of the hospital, the district authorities have issued a show-cause notice to the hospital.

The notice has come in the light of “shortcomings found upon inspection at the private hospital” which was conducted on Monday. A report of the same had to be submitted Tuesday to the district authorities but was given on Thursday after which a letter was sent to the hospital management, say health officials.

As many as three doctors, a staff nurse and at least three patients have tested positive for novel coronavirus from the same wing of the hospital in the past two weeks.

“The notice has asked the private hospital to explain their shortcomings on four to five different points and come up with a viable solution to overcome them. If no response is received within 48 hours, action will be taken against the hospital,” said Deputy Commissioner Mukesh Kumar Ahuja.

The hospital has been asked to explain their policies of crowd management as the footfall at the hospital is high and constant. “They are not abiding by the rules of the MHA when it comes to managing their crowd,” Ahuja said.
CMO Dr Jasjeet Kaur said, “The matter is being taken very seriously. We are in continuous contact with the hospital.

Looking at how the infection has spread is alarming. We are taking all steps to stop the spread here. The medical ICU, from where the cases were reported has been sealed and we will begin meddling more and more in private hospitals and their businesses to assure no such incident happens again.”

A standardised policy being implemented for hospitals will now include decongestion of waiting areas, OPDs being run only with prior appointments and in a staggered way with continuous disinfection after each shift.

Explanation in the letter has also been sought on mixing of general and suspected patients in OPDs and other areas, increase in public awareness activities regarding Covid-19 and how often was the building disinfected.

In view of the Covid-19 pandemic, hospital management is taking all the necessary precautions. Elective surgeries have already been minimised as a preventive measure. All high-risk patients are being tested for Covid–19.

A press statement issued by the Alchemist hospital stated, “Total of 60 plus staff have been tested and only four of them are positive for Covid-19. To minimize rush, alternate days/timings of few OPDs are already in place, besides starting the only appointment-based OPD consultation. All the OPD areas are being cleaned after every two hours with VIREX solution and at night all the OPD rooms are also being fumigated on a daily basis besides placing alcohol-based handrub at all strategic locations. ICU is undergoing fumigation and extensive cleaning as mandated by the government guidelines.”