E-Paper
Patients left waiting for days to get Covid test result at Shimla’s IGMCH
The hospital has been receiving more than 500 samples for testing every day while the reports of only 250 to 300 samples are issued in a day due to minimum processing time.
As Indira Gandhi Medical College and Hospital (IGMCH) here is packed to capacity due to the continuing rise in Covid infections and deaths in the district and across Himachal, its 24-hour testing facility has been hit by staff shortage, causing delays in the patients’ reports.
Patients have complained that they have to wait for three to four days to get their Covid reports at the state’s biggest hospital. IGMCH has only two testing machines, taking 90 and 70 samples at once, respectively.
The hospital has been receiving more than 500 samples for testing every day while the reports of only 250 to 300 samples are issued in a day as processing these takes three to four hours.
IGMCH principal Dr Rajnish Pathania has said that IGMC Shimla is under maximum pressure as samples from Shimla, Kinnaur and Bilaspur districts are sent here for testing and because of which there is a delay in testing.
“Staff shortage is the biggest problem and those who are available are already working for long hours,” said Dr Pathania.
He added that about 300 of IGMCH’s staff members have tested positive for Covid and only a handful of them have returned to the duty, making the 24-hour sample testing difficult.
In addition to IGMCH, RT-PCR machines have been installed in Kasauli, Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri Government Medical College and Hospital, Ner Chowk; Dr Radhakrishnan Government Medical College and Hospital, Hamirpur; Dr YS Parmar Government Medical College and Hospital, Nahan; Dr Rajendra Prasad Government Medical College and Hospotal, Tanda, and Pt Jawahar Lal Nehru Government Medical College and Hospital, Chamba.
Meanwhile, the Kanlog Crematorium management has demanded to dedicate the facility for the cremation of Covid victims.
They suggested that the non-Covid bodies could be cremated at the Sanjauli crematorium and if the inflow of bodies increases in the future, then the MC can build a temporary shed opposite Kanlog crematorium that is being used as a parking space currently.
