Patients requiring intensive care on the rise in Gurugram

As new cases of Covid-19 continue to be reported in large numbers, the number of patients in Gurugram requiring intensive medical care is also on the rise, district

As new cases of Covid-19 continue to be reported in large numbers, the number of patients in Gurugram requiring intensive medical care is also on the rise, district health department data shows. Since Sunday, ICU bed occupancy has increased by 10%, taking the occupancy of intensive care units to almost 70%.

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From 160 patients in the ICU on Sunday, there are now 179 patients in intensive care in Gurugram’s hospitals — the highest since the Covid-19 outbreak — health department data shows. The total strength of reserved ICU beds is 260.

The number of patients requiring ventilator support, too, has seen a proportional uptick, with 48 ventilator beds currently in use, up from 40 a week ago. A total of 122 ventilators are available for use in the district

Confirming that they are anticipating a spike in infections around the festive season, the district health department said they have requested 42 hospitals in the district, which are equipped to treat cases of Covid-19, to reserve an additional 5-10% of available beds for Covid-19 patients, over the next two weeks.

While official orders in the matter are yet to be passed, department officials confirmed that the move would increase the availability of Covid-19 beds for an additional 522 patients, which is 10% of the total bed availability across 42 healthcare centres (including non-Covid). The move will push up the district’s total Covid-19 bed availability to over 2,500 beds, from 1,975 beds currently allocated.

The move follows a Tuesday meeting between the chief medical officer of Gurugram and representatives of these healthcare centres. “We have communicated to the hospitals that an additional 10% of beds may be required in the coming days. We will assess the situation post Diwali and are prepared to reserve as many as 45% of all hospital beds in the district,” said Dr Virender Yadav, chief medical officer, Gurugram.

“We are looking at reserving more ICU and general beds for now. In terms of ventilator capacity, we are okay. Less than 1% of people end up requiring intubation, and the spread of the virus needs to really escalate before ventilator availability becomes a problem in Gurugram. We have 122 ventilators reserved and can augment the number when needed,” Yadav said.

With the increase in the number of Covid-19 patients requiring critical care, experts warned of a possible spike in mortality numbers this month. “The progression of the Covid-19 epidemic so far shows that there is always a gap of about two weeks between a surge in cases and a surge in deaths, or at the least a surge in cases with aggravated symptoms. If Gurugram is now at a stage where ICU beds are being taken up at a rapid pace, it stands to reason that we might see more deaths as well, perhaps in the next 10 days or so,” said Dr Rajesh Kumar, epidemiologist and former head of the department of community medicine at PGIMER, Chandigarh.

However, Kumar also clarified that such a surge can be countered by efficient treatment protocols and by increasing the availability of resources to treat patients showing aggravated symptoms. He also said that a spike in mortality, though possible, is unlikely to be as severe as the one Gururgam witnessed in June, when 94 patients succumbed to Covid-19 — the highest in a month.

“Treatment protocols have evolved and improved over the past six months, so the mortality rate is still better than it was in June,” Kumar said.

Gurugram reported 44 Covid-19 related deaths in October and has reported 11 Covid-19 related deaths in November so far, with over 6,000 new cases being reported in the first 10 days of the month. In contrast, 9,500 infections were reported in the month of October.

Prabhakaran Dorairaj, head of research and policy at the Public Health Foundation of India, said that a spike in mortality is to be expected, given the current trend. “More people in the ICU means more people falling seriously ill. As the spread of the virus gains steam in the winter, the number of people getting ill will increase, and naturally so will mortality. The public health response should anticipate this and free up resources,” he said.