No beds for dengue patients, says hospital

Residents of Jamia Nagar saw fogging machines for the first time this year on Monday even as the 300-bedded Holy Family Hospital put up boards at the emergency saying patients could not be admitted because the wards were full.

Residents of Jamia Nagar saw fogging machines for the first time this year on Monday even as the 300-bedded Holy Family Hospital put up boards at the emergency saying patients could not be admitted because the wards were full.

HT Image

On Monday, HT highlighted how Jamia Nagar, home to five lakh people, was reporting 40 dengue cases a day, twice the number of cases reported from across the city. More than 100 people suspected to be suffering from dengue arrived at local hospitals every day.

Most of the people suffering from dengue-like symptoms in the area visit Holy Family, as it is a bigger hospital with better facilities.

The hospital's casualty ward has been getting close to 50 patients with dengue-like symptoms every day for the past two weeks, and had already added 20 extra beds last week to accommodate dengue patients.

"Even after adding extra beds in the casualty as well as other wards, we still cannot accommodate the rush. As many as 80 per cent of the suspected cases test positive for dengue every day, so we are left with no choice but to refer them to nearby hospitals after administering the first-aide," said Dr Sanjeev Kumar, a senior resident in the department of medicine in the hospital.

The hospital is referring critical cases to nearby hospitals such as Apollo, Batra, Moolchand, Bansal, etc.

Two of the most affected localities are Abul Fazal Enclave part I and II and Batla house, where every family has a member down with high fever and other dengue-like symptoms.

Some of the families even have more than one member, mostly children, recuperating from the disease.

Officials from the Municipal Corporation of Delhi's (MCDs) health department visited the area on Monday.

"We have pulled resources from other zones. Eight hand-operated and two vehicle-mounted fogging machines are functioning," said N.K. Yadav, medical health officer, MCD.

Yadav said only a joint initiative would help curb the outbreak in the area. "We have zero participation from residents. I drained accumulated water from old coolers and broken buckets. Fogging will help for a day or two, but for long-term benefits, residents need to participate," said Yadav.

20 new cases of dengue were confirmed on Monday, taking the total number of people affected in Delhi to 254.