KOLKATA: Delay in hospitalisation is often turning critical for Covid patients , many of them elderly, as those infected and their family members fail to understand when the situation is turning for the worse, say doctors and hospitals. In many cases, the initial mild symptoms are being ignored as patients wait for a bed in a healthcare facility of their choice, resulting in an emergency which is often proving to be fatal.
A 72-year-old from Lake Town was in home quarantine last week after developing a mild cough. His family failed to find a bed at three private hospitals and chose to wait. Three days later, he developed severe breathing distress and died within hours of admission at a nursing home.
A 46-year-old businessman with symptoms of Covid isolated himself at home without a test even as his younger brother, also on home isolation, had already tested positive. The Phoolbagan resident’s condition deteriorated rapidly and by the time the family called in an ambulance, it was too late.
It’s time to be flexible about hospitals or else lives will be lost, warned onco-surgeon Sourav Datta. “With the sharp spike in numbers continuing, beds will rarely be available at the leading hospitals. So, patients and their kin will have to settle for smaller hospitals and nursing homes. They will at least ensure that critical patients receive oxygen support, which could be life-saving. At present, scores are waiting till they deteriorate and are eventually being turned away by hospitals when they are gasping for breath,” said Datta.
Patients should be screened on a regular basis if they stay at home, said Belle Vue Clinic consultant Rahul Jain. Other than checking oxygen-saturation level, blood pressure and blood sugar, they should watch out for minor discomfitures or breathlessness. “They should take brisk walks within the room for a few minutes everyday to check if they are running out of breath. If they experiences anything unusual, a doctor should be consulted immediately and hospitalisation sought,” added Jain.
Hospitals say unavailability of beds is forcing them to turn away a steady stream of patients who are coming in when their conditions have already turned critical. “It seems many are ignoring the early signs and waiting till the symptoms turn severe. Often, these patients are being brought in at a stage when they need ICU admission. Since vacancies are rare, we are trying to stabilize them at our emergency and referring them to other hospitals,” said Ruby General Hospital operations manager Subhashish Dutta.
Medica Superspecialty Hospital has raised the number of its Covid ICU beds to around 75 to accommodate emergency patients. “Over the last two weeks, there has been a steady spurt in the number of Covid suspects and positives who need ICU support on admission. It might have been triggered by the fact that those at home are not being rightly screened. Many of these patients could have averted the emergency had they sought hospitalisation earlier,” said Medica chairperson Alok Roy.
AMRI Hospitals, too, has seen a spurt in the number of serious cases. “It has become difficult to accommodate all critical patients who require immediate ICU support. So, we are roping in nursing homes that will accept patients we can’t accommodate,” said CEO Rupak Barua.
“In some patients with co-morbid conditions the deterioration can be really fast and hence getting medical intervention at the right time is important to reduce chances of mortality,” said critical care expert Arindam Kar.
The period between the third and sixth day after the onset of symptoms, even very mild ones, is crucial, according to Conferederation of Medical Association of Asia and Oceania (COMAA) president KK Aggarwal. “If the oxygen saturation drops at this stage, you need immediate hospitalization. If you ignore this, then chances of mortality will be high,” he said.
A 72-year-old from Lake Town was in home quarantine last week after developing a mild cough. His family failed to find a bed at three private hospitals and chose to wait. Three days later, he developed severe breathing distress and died within hours of admission at a nursing home.
A 46-year-old businessman with symptoms of Covid isolated himself at home without a test even as his younger brother, also on home isolation, had already tested positive. The Phoolbagan resident’s condition deteriorated rapidly and by the time the family called in an ambulance, it was too late.
It’s time to be flexible about hospitals or else lives will be lost, warned onco-surgeon Sourav Datta. “With the sharp spike in numbers continuing, beds will rarely be available at the leading hospitals. So, patients and their kin will have to settle for smaller hospitals and nursing homes. They will at least ensure that critical patients receive oxygen support, which could be life-saving. At present, scores are waiting till they deteriorate and are eventually being turned away by hospitals when they are gasping for breath,” said Datta.
Patients should be screened on a regular basis if they stay at home, said Belle Vue Clinic consultant Rahul Jain. Other than checking oxygen-saturation level, blood pressure and blood sugar, they should watch out for minor discomfitures or breathlessness. “They should take brisk walks within the room for a few minutes everyday to check if they are running out of breath. If they experiences anything unusual, a doctor should be consulted immediately and hospitalisation sought,” added Jain.
Hospitals say unavailability of beds is forcing them to turn away a steady stream of patients who are coming in when their conditions have already turned critical. “It seems many are ignoring the early signs and waiting till the symptoms turn severe. Often, these patients are being brought in at a stage when they need ICU admission. Since vacancies are rare, we are trying to stabilize them at our emergency and referring them to other hospitals,” said Ruby General Hospital operations manager Subhashish Dutta.
Medica Superspecialty Hospital has raised the number of its Covid ICU beds to around 75 to accommodate emergency patients. “Over the last two weeks, there has been a steady spurt in the number of Covid suspects and positives who need ICU support on admission. It might have been triggered by the fact that those at home are not being rightly screened. Many of these patients could have averted the emergency had they sought hospitalisation earlier,” said Medica chairperson Alok Roy.
AMRI Hospitals, too, has seen a spurt in the number of serious cases. “It has become difficult to accommodate all critical patients who require immediate ICU support. So, we are roping in nursing homes that will accept patients we can’t accommodate,” said CEO Rupak Barua.
“In some patients with co-morbid conditions the deterioration can be really fast and hence getting medical intervention at the right time is important to reduce chances of mortality,” said critical care expert Arindam Kar.
The period between the third and sixth day after the onset of symptoms, even very mild ones, is crucial, according to Conferederation of Medical Association of Asia and Oceania (COMAA) president KK Aggarwal. “If the oxygen saturation drops at this stage, you need immediate hospitalization. If you ignore this, then chances of mortality will be high,” he said.
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