CHANDIGARH: Premier medical institute PGI has been refusing treatment to Covid-19 patients referred with due procedure,
Punjab chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh said during a weekly
Covid review meeting on Wednesday with the state’s health department.
PGI has a dedicated Covid hospital in Chandigarh that caters to the severely ill patients from Punjab,
Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir besides Chandigarh.
The hospital has 200 beds for Covid patients needing critical care. “According to statistics, close to 50% cases in Nehru Extension Hospital (NHE) (Covid hospital), are from Punjab. Also, all ICUs are full,” said Prof Jagat Ram, director, PGI.
The CM told the health department that he would take up the matter with PM Narendra Modi on Thursday at the video-conferencing meeting and request him to direct PGI to reserve at least 50 ICU beds for patients referred by the state government.
Punjab has been categorised as one of the 11 states of grave concern due to high daily cases and higher daily deaths.
‘Of 166 critically ill patients in PGI, 83 are from Punjab’These states have contributed 90% of cases (as of March 31) and 90.5% of deaths (as of March 31) in the last 14 days, according to
Union ministry of health and family welfare.
PGI data said there are 166 serious to critical patients in the NHE until April 7.
Out of these, 83 are from Punjab, 45 from Chandigarh, 21 from Haryana, 15 from Himachal Pradesh and two from UP, according to the data. Sources said most health care workers routinely working in the Covid hospital have become fatigued.