Hyderabad: Charminar Dawakhana is one of the largest hospitals in the old city of Hyderabad with a large number of beds. The hospital is currently treating asymptomatically COVID-19 patients. In critical cases, these patients are referred to the COVID-19 hospitals.
A doctor from Charminar Dawakhana, on condition of anonymity, said the hospital had been converted into COVID-19 level 1 treatment center last March and senior Allopathy doctors allowed to treat COVID-19 patients. Later it was turned into an isolation center.
‘Since the second wave of COVID-19 is very serious than the first one. The patients’ conditions rapidly deteriorate due to oxygen and ventilators, ”Says the doctor. ‘Tests are being performed in this hospital. If any patient is found to be asymptomatically positive, he is admitted to Dawakhana and treated. But if their condition is critical or if they need oxygen, they are referred to COVID-19 Hospitals. ”
The doctor further said: ‘Last year, the government provided basic facilities to Charminar Dawakhana for level 1 treatment. There were up to 250 beds. But now there are no oxygen or ventilator beds here, and the patients are told to go to Covid hospitals. ”
‘A COVID-19 patient with mild symptoms was admitted to the hospital. Later, he had breathing problems because his oxygen saturation level dropped rapidly. Since there was no oxygen facility here, he was immediately taken to a COVID-19 hospital, ”the doctor said of a recent incident.
The state government is taking measures to increase medical facilities across the city and state. In this regard, it was decided to make use of the old hospitals in the city.
However, the state government has not brought the Nizamia General Hospital or Charminar Dawakhana, as it is popularly known, to a full-fledged conversion COVID-19 hospital because there is no oxygen.
While the state government transforms the function halls and the community centers as temporary COVID-19 health care centers, it is unfathomable why the state government does not add the oxygen facility to Charminar Dawakhana and put it in a full-time COVID-19 care hospital.
Source: The Siasat Daily