Despite tighter restrictions, there were persistent requests from people from other districts to visit Madurai for medical emergencies, said District Collector T.G.Vinay here on Friday.
Speaking to The Hindu, the Collector said that not only from southern districts, but, even from central, west and northern parts of Tamil Nadu, patients intended to visit here for consultation with specialists in cardiology and oncology.
Those patients, who had undergone surgical intervention about two or three months back, had to visit the hospital here for a review. In some other cases, owing lack of PET scan facility in their districts people had to travel to Madurai, he said. Due to the presence of multiple reputed hospitals here in the city, people wanted to visit the city, he added.
More than 50% e-passes issued were based on the certificates or letters issued by the doctors. The officials would ask the hospitals whether they had issued such letters to the persons seeking e-pass, Dr.Vinay clarified and said that the hospitals, including Government Rajaji Hospital, had separate entry for these non COVID-19 patients.
Vadamalayan Hospitals Managing Director V.Pugalagiri said that people from Virudhunagar, Theni and other towns visited their hospital for chemotherapy and for taking scans. “While on some occasions, our doctors issued letters and people who were regularly coming for treatment, showed the patient card and reached here by duly getting the e-pass...” he added.
Despite explaining the prevailing situation here in Madurai on the rise in the number of COVID-19 patients, people still preferred to visit the hospital and personally meet the doctor, said cardiologist C. Vivek Bose of Bose Hospitals. “I do get frantic calls from people in southern districts. At least, five to six people from other stations call on me for consultation and emergencies,” he added.
Doctors in Meenakshi Mission Hospital and Research Centre said that only for emergencies and review of post-surgical cases, they issued letters to the patients for personal visits.
Apollo Speciality Hospital director Rohini Sridhar said that they received patients from many districts for periodic review by the surgeons. To enable the patients to travel by road, the hospital issued letters. On arrival, due care was taken to ensure that they were sanitised/tested.
A government official at the e-pass issuance centre said that from July 1 (5 p.m) to July 2 (5 p.m.), a total of 412 applications were received from as many as 30 districts including Chengalpattu, Nagapattinam, Pudukottai, Tiruchi, Tirunelveli, Virudhunagar and Theni seeking e-pass for travel by road . After verifying them, they were given the passes, the official added.