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Haryana miffed over PGIMER’s refusal to admit critical patient from P’kula
The patient had developed respiratory distress, forcing the district’s chief medical officer to approach the PGIMER for immediately shifting her to the premier institute in Chandigarh
The Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER)’s refusal to admit a critical coronavirus patient from Panchkula two days ago has reportedly not gone down well with the Haryana health authorities.
On Wednesday, a 44-year-old woman from Sector 15 in Panchkula had developed respiratory distress, forcing the district’s chief medical officer (CMO), Jasjeet Kaur, to approach the PGIMER for immediately shifting her to the premier institute in Chandigarh.
The CMO said the PGIMER doctors declined the request, stating that there were clear cut directions from the UT authorities to only admit positive cases from Chandigarh.
“This put us in a tight spot. We immediately tied up with a local private hospital. They were hesitant at first, but finally admitted her after some pressure,” she said, adding that the patient is stable now.
“I have already conveyed my objection in the video conference chaired by the UT administrator on Thursday. I have also communicated the same to higher officials in the Haryana government. I have been told that the officials are writing to PGIMER authorities on this episode,” she said.
Sources said that the Haryana chief secretary also intervened and took up the matter with the PGIMER.
BOUND BY DIRECTIONS: PGI
Meanwhile, Dr GD Puri, dean (academics), who spoke on PGIMER’s behalf on the issue, told HT that they are bound by the Epidemic Act as evoked by the UT administrator banning the movement of inter-state migration of positive cases. He further said, “People think PGIMER is a tertiary care unit. But it is understandable only if we have a certain facility and others don’t.”
“In case of the Panchkula patient, the government hospital there has as many as six ventilators. They have even designated a private hospital for Covid treatment. Despite all this, insisting for admitting a patient who just needed to be put on oxygen does not fall under the protocol,” he said.
On why Panchkula was still trying to shift the patient to PGIMER, Dr Puri said, “I don’t know but if bigwigs call repeatedly, the patient must be related to someone. We had an ‘out of the way’ request from Punjab too but the administrator has already made a protocol on the basis of some long-term planning. Today we have 20 cases, it may be 50 or 100 in future.”
‘WERE NOT READY FOR CRITICAL CARE’
However, later Panchkula CMO Jasjeet Kaur clarified that the ventilator facility in their hospital was recently installed but their covid treatment protocol for critical patients was not adequate as yet.
She added that the state had also roped in Paras hospital where the protocol for treatment facilities was not complete, which is why they had approached the PGIMER.
“We will be ready to deal with serious patients shortly. But my request to PGIMER is that if there is a similar situation where they need their help as a tertiary care institute, they should accommodate,” said Kaur, adding that they will never bother the institute with mild or moderate cases which they are already treating.
