Hospitals near Noida to check if beds are free before referring Covid-19 patients to district

NOIDA: The Gautam Buddh Nagar administration has asked hospitals in neighbouring districts to refer coronavirus (Covid-19) disease patients to hospitals in the Noida

NOIDA: The Gautam Buddh Nagar administration has asked hospitals in neighbouring districts to refer coronavirus (Covid-19) disease patients to hospitals in the Noida district only after co-ordinating with Covid-dedicated facilities here about availability of beds.

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In its recent meeting with private Covid-dedicated hospitals in the district, the administration had asked them to increase their capacity of beds and to treat Covid-19 patients from Noida district on priority.

District magistrate Suhas LY said that it has been proved now that due to its floating nature of population and frequent cross-border movement between Delhi and Noida, The Gautam Buddh Nagar is prone to have fluctuating number of Covid-19 cases, with respect to neighbouring areas. “We have categorically asked all private Covid-19 facilities in Noida district to admit referred patients from other districts only if they have adequate beds,” he said.

“In addition, our health department officials have intimated hospitals in neighbouring districts that before referring any Covid-19 patient to hospitals in GB Nagar district, they must first co-ordinate with the respective hospital whether beds are available. The health department officials have also been asked to take stock of patients from other districts being treated in GB Nagar hospitals,” he said.

He further said that at present, the district’s hospitals do not have any dearth of beds for Covid-19 patients. “At present, our Covid-19 facilities have as many as 2,411 beds, including 383 intensive care unit (ICU) beds, 181 ventilator beds and 884 oxygen beds. However, the number of patients admitted in these are 712, while and 433 others are under home isolation. The chief medical officer (CMO) has been asked to keep records of all Covid-19 patients being treated at different facilities in the district updated. He has also been asked to keep records of doctors and paramedics visiting Covid-19 wards in shifts there,” Suhas said.

Expressing concern over the sudden surge in positive cases in the national Capital, the DM said that the situation had adversely impacted GB Nagar in April, when the district health department had found that 42% of the cases had come from contacts in Delhi. “And now when restrictions have eased and economic activities have started, the sources of several new positive cases in Noida can be traced to there. To check the spread of the virus, we were left with limited options – to increase surveillance in areas with floating populations, and random sampling at borders. We started these exercises Wednesday,” he said.

District CMO Dr Deepak Ohri said that due to random sampling on Noida-Delhi borders, as many as 21 new positive cases have been detected out of tests through 521 rapid antigen kits. “While three persons tested positive on Wednesday out of 165 random samples at DND Flyway and Chilla borders, nine tested positive on Thursday out of 178 sampled at Botanical Garden and New Ashok Nagar metro stations. On Friday, our health workers conducted random testing of 178 persons at Botanical Garden bus stand and Dallupura areas, of which nine have been tested positive” he said.