Govt asks panel to look at minimising Covid fatality rate

The government had also said hospitals had to set up a proper holding area for Covid-19 patients, apart from ensuring an effective triage and monitoring of oxygen saturation.

The Delhi government earlier this week told a 12-member committee, set up on directions of the Supreme Court to inspect Covid-19 hospitals in the national capital, to look into factors that can help reduce the deaths caused by coronavirus disease (Covid-19).

A health worker collects a swab sample from a man to test for coronavirus infecton at Swami Parmanand Prakritik Chikitsalaya Yoga and Anusandhan Kendra in New Delhi. (Raj K Raj/HT PHOTO)

According to an office memorandum from Delhi’s principal health secretary Vikram Dev Dutt, the government also provided a checklist containing questions such as time taken for triaging (the practice of assigning treatment based on urgency) Covid-19 patients; if early warning scores to determine whether a patient might deteriorate were followed; and whether the hospital had a standardised investigation protocol.

“Since committees constituted for the inspection of hospitals in Delhi, consequent to orders passed by the Supreme Court, are already carrying out their mandate in a continuous manner, it would be appropriate that specific attention may now be focused upon aspects which have a bearing on the reduction of Covid-related mortalities,” the memorandum read.

This comes after the Delhi government released protocols for management of Covd-19 patients, including having a dedicated health care worker monitoring each critical patient. The protocols had also said that availability of dialysis has to be ensured by all hospitals as patients with Covid-19 acute respiratory distress syndrome may also develop acute kidney problems.

The government had also said hospitals had to set up a proper holding area for Covid-19 patients, apart from ensuring an effective triage and monitoring of oxygen saturation.

Dr Mahesh Verma, a member of the committee and vice-chancellor of Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, said, “The government has provided us with a checklist of questions to look into whether the hospitals are following protocols for admission, triage, critical care, and infection control. Even one death that can be prevented should be prevented and the committee has just been asked to look into whether there is anything that can be done.”

“So far, most deaths in hospitals have been of patients who tried to manage their symptoms at home and reached hospitals only when their lungs were compromised or at a stage when they needed to be put on ventilators and the condition could not be reversed. Earlier, Covid-related deaths were also taking place because doctors did not understand the progression of disease and there was a sudden coagulopathy (formation of clots) or drop in oxygen saturation,” he said.

The data provided by the chief minister’s office showed that 691 deaths took place in Delhi between June 24 and July 8, which works out to an average of 46 deaths a day.

The numbers have gone down further, with just 26 deaths being reported on July 18 in the daily health bulletin.