Covid-19: Implement new discharge policy to reduce load on hospitals: Docs to govt

The doctors believe that asymptomatic patients can be home quarantined for 14 days or can be isolated in Covid-19 care centres so that they can focus on severe cases in hospitals

The Punjab government should implement the new discharge policy for the coronavirus patients as proposed by the Union health ministry to reduce unnecessary load on Covid hospitals, doctors in Amritsar said on Sunday.

HT Image

The doctors believe that asymptomatic patients can be home quarantined for 14 days or can be isolated in Covid-19 care centres so that they can focus on severe cases in hospitals.

As per the revised policy, mild, very mild and pre-symptomatic patients admitted to a Covid care facility will undergo regular temperature and pulse monitoring. They can be discharged from hospital after 10 days of symptom onset and if they have no fever for 3 days, it says. There will be no need for testing before discharge. At the time of discharge, the patient will be advised to follow home isolation for 7 more days.

“Since hospitals are jam-packed with Covid-19 patients, most of whom are asymptomatic, the doctors are facing a difficult time to concentrate on severe patients. The asymptomatic patients are not being given any treatment in the hospital because they are healthy,” said Dr Shiv Charan, head of medicine department at Government Medical College and hospital (GMCH), Amritsar.

“The government should admit only those Covid-19 patients in the hospital who are severely infected and have co-morbidities,” Dr AP Singh, dean, Sri Guru Ram Das (SGRD) University of Health Sciences.

State health department spokesperson for Covid-19, Dr Rajesh Bhaskar, he said, “Punjab government is conducting meeting with union ministry about the new discharge policy. It will take two to three days to decide upon its implementation in the state.”