Keep aside beds for dengue patients, Delhi govt tells hospitals

Deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, who also holds the health portfolio, said that all private and government hospitals and nursing homes have been asked to ensure that no dengue patient is denied admission on account of a bed shortage

Noting the rise in cases of dengue in the national capital, the Delhi government on Tuesday directed all government and private hospitals in the city to reserve 10-15% of their beds for patients of vector-borne diseases.

A municipal corporation worker fumigates an area in Greater Kailash 1 on a rainy day in New Delhi. (Raj K Raj/HT Photo)

According to a report by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) on the disease released on Monday, the Capital registered 321 dengue cases during the weekly cycle ending October 5, taking the city’s cumulative case count to 1,258. Delhi is yet to report any death this year due to the disease. To be sure, the cumulative figure of dengue cases this year is the worst since the corresponding period in 2017, when Delhi had recorded 2,564 dengue cases -- the city had registered 480 cases during the corresponding period in 2021, 316 cases in 2020, 467 cases in 2019 and 830 cases in 2018.

Deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, who also holds the health portfolio, said that all private and government hospitals and nursing homes have been asked to ensure that no dengue patient is denied admission on account of a bed shortage. “Dengue and other vector-borne disease cases start rising from post-monsoon and usually reach a peak during November. During the current year also, a rise has been observed since the last few weeks in the number of dengue cases,” an order issued by the government read.

Experts consider September and October to be the most vulnerable period for the spread of the infection in Delhi, and the city usually witnesses the peak of weekly count over these two months.

The government has also advised that beds kept aside for Covid-19 patients may be utilised for dengue patients since Covid-19 cases in the city are currently on a decline.

According to the government order, “...It has been decided that all government and private hospitals/nursing homes registered under the Delhi Nursing Home Registration Act (1953) shall designate a proportion (10-15%) of their available beds for admitting fever cases including VBD cases. The beds reserved for admitting Covid-19 patients and lying vacant may be utilised for this purpose.”

Government data shows that around 8,800 hospital beds are presently kept aside in all hospitals (including central government, Delhi government and private hospitals for Covid-19 cases). Less than 1% of them were occupied over the last three-four weeks, health officials said.

“Cases have seen a sharp rise in the last two weeks but there is no need to panic as all the arrangements have been set in place to provide treatment to patients at hospitals. The government has put all the hospitals across the national capital on alert and is keeping an eye on the whole situation,” Sisodia said.

Experts have attributed the rise in dengue cases this year to erratic rainfall patterns, including short and intense rain spells and the resultant water logging.

“Urbanisation is a major reason of water logging. There are no free spaces for the water to percolate into the soil and since water accumulates, it becomes conducive ground for mosquitoes to breed this season,” said Mahesh Palawat, vice-president (meteorology and climate change) at Skymet Weather Services.