Many being discharged to accommodate critical ones
Irfan Tramboo
Srinagar, May 10: With cases surging and resources getting exhausted across tertiary hospitals in Srinagar, SKIMS, Soura today ordered a suspension of all its OPDs along with the elective surgeries, while the SMHS hospital is also grappling for more space amid an overflow of the COVID patients.
Officials at SKIMS, Soura told Excelsior that keeping in view the increasing patient rush at the hospital, the OPD services have been stopped along with other elective procedures through a verbal order issued by the administration.
Earlier, the OPD services were partially functioning at the SKIMS. However, teleconsultations schedule for a few departments was made available by the hospital administration. But now when the OPDs have been shut entirely, the hospital administration has issued a detailed schedule for teleconsultations with all the departments.
Meanwhile, at SMHS, the PGs and other senior doctors are facing pressure with the increase in the number of COVID-19 patients. Officials told Excelsior that the Head of the Units had to discharge several patients to make room for those who needed more care and attention from the doctors and are in a bad condition.
They also said that the SHMS hospital is almost full while several patients were seen on trollies in the absence of the required beds while warning that the hospital is already facing scarcity of oxygen with the increase in the patients and is relying more on oxygen cylinders.
Dr Kanwarjeet Singh, Medical Superintendent, SMHS Hospital told Excelsior that they are facing a huge patient rush particularly the referrals and had to open up one more ward for the COVID care.
“Almost all the wards are COVID dedicated now except for a few; about the oxygen, we are getting the supplies of oxygen cylinders and hopefully we will get 2 more oxygen generation plants of 1000 LPM after Eid,” he said.
However, on the other side, the district administration Srinagar had created a portal www.waseela.in which was meant for giving real-time details on the number of ICU beds, Isolation beds and other resources available in Srinagar hospitals, but the same does not appear to be updated regularly.
As per the portal, SMHS still has 19 COVID beds out of 203, however, the status has been last updated almost six days ago. About Isolation beds at the hospital, the portal states that there are still 18 such beds available out of 192 but the status was updated on May 4 and the same is the case with the ventilators.
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