Staff hospitals with more doctors if needed, says Jung

NEW DELHI: Lieutenant governor (L-G) Najeeb Jung directed officials to deploy more doctors in city hospitals and fever clinics according to need to deal with the

NEW DELHI: Lieutenant governor (L-G) Najeeb Jung directed officials to deploy more doctors in city hospitals and fever clinics according to need to deal with the spurt in cases of chikungunya and dengue, which have claimed over a dozen lives this month.

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Jung took stock of the preparedness of fever clinics, hospital wards and labs in Lok Nayak, Bara Hindu Rao and the GTB hospitals on Sunday. He interacted with doctors and patients, and told the health secretary to keep him updated.

The L-G’s visit comes a day after a war of words with the Delhi government over his direction to deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia to cut short his Finland visit in the wake of the spurt.

Water minister Kapil Mishra had alleged that Jung refused to meet them on Saturday when he and health minister Satyendar Jain went to his office following the directive.

There have been 1,057 confirmed cases of chikungunya cases and 10 deaths due to the infection in the Capital till September 10, according to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi. There have been 1,158 confirmed cases and four deaths related to dengue September 10.

According to Lok Nayak Hospital medical superintendant (MS), Dr JC Passey, 76 out of the 200 beds dedicated to chikungunya and dengue patients are occupied.

Most patients come to the hospital from central Delhi, with 10% patients from neighbouring states such as Uttar Pradesh.

“He also informed the L-G that apart from one death last month, there has been no fatalities and that chikungunya patients do not always require hospitalisation. The MS also said that as per their data, the ratio of chikungunya to dengue patients this year is 4:1,” a statement from L-G’s office said.

The ground zero of a crippling chikungunya outbreak in Delhi is in the backyard of the country’s premier hospital, the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS).

Ayur Vigyan Nagar, a residential colony housing doctors and staffers from AIIMS, and neighbouring Gautam Nagar and Masjid Moth recorded the highest number of chikungunya cases in Delhi this year, according to data of municipal agencies till September 10.

After Dwarka, which has officially reported 20 cases, Ayur Vigyan Nagar, with 18, is the second worst affected neighbourhood in Delhi, where the Safdarjung Hospital is also located.