Hyderabad's Gandhi hospital staffers set unique benchmark in patient care amid COVID distress

HYDERABAD: As Gandhi Hospital and the State of Telangana completed one year of fighting Covid-19, the Gynecology Department of the hospital etched a unique feat of completing 950  deliveries for women affected by Coronavirus.

According to the Gynecology Department HOD Dr G Mahalakshmi, 612 of the deliveries were cesarean and 338 were normal.

“Initially we were apprehensive about initiating normal deliveries because most cases which came to Gandhi were high-risk ones. Our primary concern was that if a case had complications and required surgery, we might not find enough time to change into protective equipment for the operation and lose the child,” explained Dr Mahalakshmi. The team eventually worked out ways to reduce C-sections and encouraged normal births.

The department had to witness 29 deaths between April and December, 2020. “One of the most challenging time was when three women were on ventilators. However, with multi-disciplinary support, we could save their lives,” she added. At present, the hospital is treating four pregnant women affected by Covid-19. 

Similarly, Nephrology Department performed 6,800 rounds of dialysis in one year for Covid-19 patients. “We had 580 patients in all, 12 of whom were children. It has been a challenge because a lot of disposables were needed and government hospitals often do not have them, but we received full support from the government and provided dialysis on bed even to acute patients,” explained Dr Manjusha Yadla, HOD Nephrology.