Chandigarh admn to streamline Covid-19 hospitalisation process

With focus on reducing deaths, city divided into five zones with dedicated rapid response teams for patients who are in home isolation

Amid a spike in the number of fatalities related to Covid-19 in the past month, the Chandigarh health department is streamlining the process to expedite shifting of patients who are in home isolation to hospitals in case their condition deteriorates.

The city has been divided into five zones with dedicated rapid response teams in each zone that will respond to the emergency after receiving calls through helpdesk numbers. At present, there are 1,881 active cases in the city, and in each zone, there are about 250-300 patients in home isolation, some of whom may require hospitalisation at any stage.

In comparison to 41 Covid-19 casualties in August, Chandigarh witnessed 106 deaths in September, though new cases started declining after a major surge in mid-September. While the seven-day average growth rate of infections has dropped to 1.4% from as high as 5% in early August, the fatality rate has jumped to 1.4% from 1.1% in just a week. Experts warn that there is a lag of one to two weeks between the peak of cases and deaths, so fatalities due to the mid-September surge will continue for a few days.

Immediate response

A senior UT official privy to the development said patients who will complain of decreased oxygen saturation levels and difficulty in breathing will get immediate response and will be shifted to the Government Multi Specialty Hospital (GMSH), Sector 16, or Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), Sector 32.

“The patients requiring emergency will contact the rapid response teams activated in each zone, who in turn will ensure that the ambulance is sent to the particular address and the patient is shifted to the hospital concerned. The doctors on duty will examine the patients and take a call on whether they require short-term or long-term hospitalisation,” said the official.

As the patients may require hospitalisation for moderate symptoms, arrangements have been made at GMSH-16, while GMCH-32 already has a Covid-19 facility.

UT health secretary Arun Gupta confirmed the department is developing a protocol for immediately shifting patients who require hospitalisation.

“This is being done to ensure that in case of any emergency, patients do not face any problem. In turn, it will help decrease the fatality rate,” he said.