Delhi govt hospitals restrict non-Covid services, cut OPD hours

The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) was the first to stop walk-in registrations at its clinics on Tuesday, which was followed by hospitals such as Lady Hardinge Medical College and Lok Nayak limiting the number of patients registering for their clinics.

With cases of Covid-19 on the rise in the capital city, non-Covid services have once again been affected as hospitals have started restricting the number of patients being seen at outpatient clinics, reduced the number of elective surgeries, and reassigned beds and manpower for the treatment of the viral infection.

In addition to restricting clinics, the hospitals have also started cutting down on routine elective surgeries. (Ravi Kumar/HT Photo)

The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) was the first to stop walk-in registrations at its clinics on Tuesday, which was followed by hospitals such as Lady Hardinge Medical College and Lok Nayak limiting the number of patients registering for their clinics.

At Lok Nayak hospital, the registration timing has been cut by half-an-hour to 10.30am from the earlier 11am. The number of patients being allowed into clinics has also been restricted to 50 existing patients and 50 new patients, according to a senior administrator.

At Lady Hardinge Medical College, the number of patients allowed per department has been restricted to 150. The timing for registration has been reduced -- it is now 8am to 10am instead 8am to noon. For special clinics – ones meant for specific diseases such as diabetes and club foot – the registrations will be limited to 50 persons, according to an order by the hospital director Dr NN Mathur.

A senior doctor from the hospital, on condition of anonymity, said, “There is very limited space available at the hospital. The number of patients is being restricted to ensure that there is no crowding. Patients will also be given time slots to ensure that they enter the building in a staggered manner.”

In addition to restricting clinics, the hospitals have also started cutting down on routine elective surgeries.

According to the administrator from Lok Nayak hospital, the number of non-emergency planned surgeries will be halved to ensure that adequate staff is available for the 1,000 beds that were recently earmarked for Covid-19 patients.

The hospital had been converted entirely into a Covid-19 facility last year. From 2,000 beds earmarked for the treatment of Covid, it was reduced to 300 in January after the city’s positivity rate dropped below 1%.

All routine surgeries have been deferred by a week at Lady Hardinge Medical College. “When the pressure on one service increases, we have to reduce the burden on other services. We have to cut down on the number of surgeries to free up anaesthetists who have to take care of Covid-19 patients,” said a doctor from the hospital, asking not to be named.

AIIMS is also diverting more manpower and infrastructure for treatment of Covid. The minutes of a meeting of the hospital’s task force, on Tuesday, read, “Beds occupied by non-Covid patients to be vacated at the earliest to accommodate Covid suspects/cases as was being done previously… Non-Covid work needs to be reduced to redirect resources for Covid areas.”

The new private ward has been opened for isolation and quarantine of health care workers who are either Covid-19 positive or suspected to have the infection. Holding areas for suspected patients, till their reports come, has also been restarted at the hospital, according to the minutes.