Hyderabad: It is a struggle even to get bed at OGH, patients sleep on floor

HYDERABAD: Covid-19 suspects at Osmania General Hospital (OGH), Afzalgunj, are struggling even to get a bed, leave alone oxygen or ventilator support. Patients have to sleep on a mattress on the floor and can only hope for a bed, sadly, only if another patient dies at the health facility.
Speaking about their terrible experiences, kin of patients lamented the state of affairs at one of the top tertiary care hospitals in the state. A patient’s family says they struggled to get a bed, oxygen and medical support.
Manish Parupalli, a resident of Secunderabad, said his uncle was admitted to OGH early this month with symptoms of breathlessness. “There were 30 people in the queue to get admitted that day. We were told only if someone dies will we get a bed and till then he could use a mattress. Within a few hours, someone passed away, he was asked to move to the bed without any sanitisation being done.” This was before any tests were conducted. A private hospital had earlier conducted some tests and said his uncle was most likely suffering from Covid-19, but denied him admission.
Manish said as his uncle struggled to breathe, officials asked them to arrange for oxygen. His uncle passed away the next day, not before pleading with his family to transfer him out of the facility. Activist Sravanthi Kasaram, who has been helping patients getting access to medical facilities in the city, confirmed, “At OGH, beds are not equipped with ventilators. The situation is dire.”
A doctor from the hospital, on condition of anonymity, said: “We are admitting all patients, but in such a situation, facilities available are simply not enough. The staff and facilities are overburdened. On Monday when I was checking ports, oxygen coming through was negligible.”