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Nagpur Covid-19 patients share beds at govt hospital. Administration ‘clarifies'
Medical superintendent of the medical college Dr Avinash V Gawande said that such measures are taken only when there is an influx of several patients over a short period of time.
After photos of Covid-19 patients sharing beds at the Government Medical College in Nagpur surfaced on Thursday, the hospital administration claimed that it might be a one-off case when there is an emergency requirement of medical oxygen.
News agency ANI released photos showing patients sharing beds at the hospital as they waited for proper medical attention.
Medical superintendent of the medical college Dr Avinash V Gawande said that such measures are taken only when there is an influx of several patients in a short period of time. He said that the 85-bed ward for emergency patients acts as a station to give them medical oxygen. “It does not happen generally. It is a 900-bed hospital and patients come from neighbouring districts and states hence it is important to give them oxygen quickly,” Gawande was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
“Our 85-bed emergency ward acts as a station before we shift patients. At times several patients come in simultaneously so in such situations there is a possibility of two patients being kept on a single bed but we shift them within 10-15 minutes,” he said
Several hospitals in Nagpur are battling to address the rise in hospitalisations. Nagpur is among the worst-affected districts as it currently has over 63,000 active cases of Covid-19. Nagpur recorded 5,993 fresh cases of Covid-19 on Wednesday which pushed the tally in the district to 2,97,036. The death toll also rose to 5,960 as Nagpur recorded 57 more casualties. Nagpur, which is under the imposition of Section 144, like the rest of the state, saw the minimal presence of people on Thursday, according to an ANI report.
