Pune: Covid deaths rising, PCMC says early treatment key to lower mortality rate

THE committee appointed by the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation, to look into the deaths of Covid-19 patients at five civic-run hospitals and suggest measures to reduce them, has recommended some steps to ensure early treatment for patients.

“We have recommended to the civic administration certain steps to ensure early treatment…,” said Dr Pravin Soni, head of Department of Medicine at YCM Hospital and a key member of the committee.

“Jumbo hospital has the highest number of deaths. Every day, it has been recording more deaths than other civic hospitals,” said Dr Soni. In April, while the Auto Cluster facility recorded around 100 deaths, jumbo hospital registered more than 400 deaths and YCM Hospital registered 300 deaths.

YCMH dean Dr Rajendra Wable said delayed treatment sought by patients was a major factor. “After someone has fever, he first takes over the counter medicine like Crocin. If the fever does not subside, he then goes to the general practitioner who gives medicine for two more days. After two days, he tells the patient to get tested. The test report takes two-three days to arrive. In between, five crucial days are lost. By that time, the patient’s condition has started worsening,” said Dr Wable.

– Stay updated with the latest Pune news. Follow Express Pune on Twitter here and on Facebook here. You can also join our Express Pune Telegram channel here.

Dr Soni said, “Local residents should get treatment from expert doctors who are already handling Covid-19 patients in hospitals. If they can’t go to private doctors for some reason, they can visit the YCM Hospital fever clinic. We have set up the clinic to start immediate treatment for such patients.”

PCMC health chief Dr Anil Roy said deaths among local residents in the age group of 60-69 years, and above 70, were the highest.

“These age groups are high-risk groups. Most of them suffer from co-morbidities and age-related ailments… But there are also scores of cases where local residents above the age of 80 and 90 have recovered,” he said.

Dr Shrikrishna Joshi, spokesperson for Lokmanya Hospital, said, “There are various reasons for more deaths in the second wave than in the first one. Firstly, smaller hospitals treat the patient for 4-5 days and when the condition of the patient turns serious, they send the patient to bigger hospitals. Smaller hospitals lack oxygen or ventilator beds. Some patients die on the way to the bigger hospitals.”

Another reason, said Dr Joshi, is that patients who are home-isolated turn critical and have to be urgently shifted to ventilator support.