NAGPUR: In what is being described as ‘Qayamat ki raat’ by those out there looking for beds in the intervening night of Wednesday and Thursday, a youth drove his 55-year-old Covid positive father around 460km in a basic life support (BLS) ambulance to
Warangal in neighbouring Telangana state after he realized there was no way they could find a bed in Nagpur.
A vegetable vendor and a resident of New Bidipeth, the Covid patient’s oxygen saturation level had drastically depleted. He had deep lung infection and immediately required ventilator bed, which was not available in the city since Wednesday morning.
“I saw VIPs, journalists, politicians and common people throwing their weight but couldn’t get their patients admitted to medical colleges and private hospitals. Around 2am, my uncle asked me to rush for Warangal where he had secured a bed in a private hospital,” said Abhimanyu, 21, who works in an IT company in Nagpur.
The ambulance reached Warangal at 11.30am and Abhimanyu’s father was immediately rushed to the ICU where he is battling for life.
A prominent fleet owner told TOI that at least five patients died in ambulances as they couldn’t get a bed for hours. “Last night was ‘Qayamat ki raat’. Some left for Sawangi, Wardha, Seoni, and other states. We have a list of 100 patients waiting at home for beds,” said Dr Abhishek Rana who operates a fleet of ambulances.
Dr Rana said there is no space either in private or government hospitals for Covid patients. “Those who survived were dropped off at their homes and oxygen support was arranged,” he said.
He further said that around 50 ambulances, including 15 belonging to him, were on calls in the city in the night.
According to him, another patient died on Thursday morning in ambulance. “The patient was brought from Chhindwara to Ramdaspeth. When he reached, the bed was allotted to someone else,” he said.
NGO HelpForGood’s Gagandeep Singh Vij, who helps citizens find beds, said he had received around three to four queries, including Abhimanyu’s, late on Wednesday night. “All were for ICU and ventilator beds but we couldn’t arrange for anyone. One patient left for Bhandara but when he reached there, the bed was occupied,” he said.
Dr Rana said relatives are now looking for options out of the city.
Management consultant Amjad Khan was searching a bed for his 57-year-old aunt since Wednesday night. On Thursday evening, his aunt was still at home. “Remdesivir is not available anywhere and no hospital has a Covid bed. How does a patient survive at home?” he said.
Vidarbha Hospital Association convener Dr Anup Marar said it is a distressing situation for all healthcare service providers as relatives are agitated because of lack of ICU beds, dialysis beds and Remdesivir. “Hospitals are overwhelmed with admission calls, and both sets of RT-PCR positive and negative Covid like presentations with dearth of oxygen and Remdesivir,” he said.
Dipti (name changed), a resident of Dattareya Nagar, said the private hospital where her uncle was admitted had asked them to shift him since the infection was deep and he needed a ventilator which was not available.
Similarly, there were countless calls and queries from relatives and friends of Covid positive patients who need urgent hospitalization but had to wait.
Shockingly, the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) didn’t release its daily bed vacancy chart.
Civic and district authorities didn’t answer to TOI’s calls and messages regarding the problems faced by citizens.