Hyderabad: Most private hospitals avoid patients with respiratory issues

Hyderabad: Wile the Health department has given instructions to all private hospitals to alert cases coming with pnemonia and respiratory issues as they can be tracked for novel coronavirus infection also, some of the private hospitals are not admitting such cases in first place.

The concerned patient or their attendants are being told to look for another hospital citing some issue like lack of specialist doctors to look into respiratory health issues or lack of separate facilities and protective equipment for admitting such cases. The family of a 50-year old Saroornagar resident experienced this problem few days ago.

He was taken first to a private hospital with fever and severe cough and the hospital first admitted him and then advised them to go for a big hospital. According to Ranga Reddy Health authorities, the patient went to another private hospital (which did not admit) and from there to NIMS, Panjagutta where they also met the same fate.

Ultimately the patient was taken to Yashoda hospital, where sample was collected and sent for testing and the result came out positive to the virus. Doctors working in the State hospitals have stated that they are getting such cases more frequently at present as private hospitals are shying away from treating such cases due to various reasons.

There are infection worries to hospital staff and other patients by getting exposed to such cases, also the hospital staff including doctors will be put under home isolation if patients with respiratory problems test positive later. When contacted, president of Telangana Super-Specialty Hospitals Association Dr Bhaskar Rao said that hospitals that have two or more blocks are admitting all Covid-19 suspected cases or patients coming with respiratory issues as they have demarcated one block especially to look into such cases.