From all patients in hospital year ago to few serious ones in 2nd wave

Nagpur: The number of patients now admitted to dedicated Covid hospitals (DCHs) are now quite less than what it was exactly a year ago. As on date, less than 100 patients are admitted in government DCHs and DCHCs in the district, though there are 231 facilities to treat and isolate positive patients.
On June 29, 2020, the district had 277 patients admitted to DCHs at two medical colleges. Later, AIIMS Nagpur too started admitting a limited number of patients followed by inclusion of private hospitals in the Covid fight from August.
The over 7,400 vacant beds in the daily chart and handful of active cases come as a huge respite to the health and administrative officials, who spent sleepless night battling the crisis at its peak.
Though the district still has 396 active cases, some 133 are admitted or staying in institutional quarantine centres as per revised guidelines. In the same period last year, all those testing positive had to compulsorily get admitted at GMCH and IGGMCH.
GMCH medical superintendent Dr Avinash Gawande said the disease remained pretty much under control then as all Covid positive patients were admitted. “The patients then were more but manageable, while now they are few in number but all of them serious,” he said.
Dr Gawande’s observation signifies the dynamic nature of the novel coronavirus, which became lethal in the second wave.
Dr Shishir Shrivastav, director of Kunal Hospital, pointed out that the patient flow has suddenly stopped. “Between first and second wave, we had average 30 Covid patients at a time in our hospital. Around 14 days after May first week, there was no Covid patient admitted,” he said.
The doctors are happy as well as awestruck by the sudden withdrawal of the pandemic in the district. Shortage of drugs like remdesivir, tocilizumab, oxygen and beds would hound them for days on end, are now a thing of the past.
Vidarbha Hospitals Association (VHA) president Dr Ashok Arbat said problems only increased from March to April as compared to August-September last year, but doctors never got discouraged. “With so many recovering from Covid infection, many getting vaccinated, and exposure to the situation, the society had gradually accepted the disease,” he said.
Fear and apprehensions regarding the disease too disappeared with time. People would often oppose Covid facilities in their areas till the end of the first wave.
“Every one was scared as there were a lot of rumours. No one knew exactly what danger it posed. Private hospitals were of the view that we should treat all Covid patients at a big, single facility like GMCH. First wave was mild but we were not prepared. Gradually health care workers gained experience. When second wave arrived in February–March, many serious patients recovered and returned to normal life,” he said.
Another interesting fact of the two waves was that it divided nearly all hospitals into Covid and non-Covid.