30% patients in Delhi hospitals in ICUs, says govt data

One of every three Covid-19 patients admitted in a Delhi hospital was in intensive care unit (ICU), data provided by the Delhi government, which HT has seen, said.

The data, which was submitted by the health department to minister Satyendar Jain’s office on Tuesday (September 22), said 7,242 Covid patients were admitted in hospitals across the city as on that date, of which 2,173 (30.02%) were in ICUs and 278 on ventilator support.

Currently, Delhi has around 15,800 Covid beds and around 2,980 ICU beds – of which 1,319 have ventilator facilities, the government’s hospital beds database showed. As on Friday, 6,935 of the total beds and 2,115 of ICU beds were occupied.

On Friday, 3,827 new Covid cases were recorded in Delhi.

The data submitted to Jain’s office further said that one out of every four general as well as ICU beds in the city was occupied by a patient who was not from Delhi.

Of the 7,242 beds occupied as on September 22, at least 1,756 were booked by people from other states. Similarly, 556 of the 2,173 occupied ICU beds and 99 of the 278 occupied ventilator beds as on September 22 accommodated people from other states, the data showed.

Delhi government spokespersons refused to comment on the matter.

Dr Jugal Kishore, head of the community medicines department in Delhi’s Safdarjung Hospital said, “ICU beds in Delhi have higher occupancy rates because hospitals are largely catering to patients with severe symptoms. However, people from other states coming to Delhi for better treatment is a routine affair. The government should rather look at the present pandemic as a wake-up call and increase ICU beds and ventilator support facilities in hospitals.”

In June, the Delhi government had issued directions suggesting that covid-19 beds in Delhi government hospitals and those in private hospitals in the Capital should be reserved for patients who reside in Delhi. The order, however, was later struck down by lieutenant governor Anil Baijal.

Delhi has witnessed a second spike in Covid cases since mid-August, which subsequently also triggered an increase in the rate of occupancy of hospital beds.

Before the resurgence of cases, the seven-day average of daily cases in the Capital peaked at 3,446 on June 26 before falling to 983 on August 4. In the last seven days, Delhi has seen an average of more than 3,700 new cases surfacing every day.

As on August 4, the city had 13,578 total hospital beds, of which 21.76% (2,954) beds were occupied as against the current occupancy rate of 43.89% (6,935 out of 15,800 as on Friday), government data showed.