The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) will soon start a dashboard to show the availability of beds for both Covid-19 and non-Covid-19 patients at private hospitals, according to civic officials.
Shekhar Gaikwad, PMC commissioner, said, “We will launch the dashboard by Tuesday hopefully and all private hospitals and nursing homes will have to update the dashboard every two to three hours on a daily basis. This will help residents get live updates on the number of beds with and without oxygen, the number of ventilators and ICU beds or even general beds available.”
“We had to introduce this dashboard after we got complaints that patients are being neglected treatment or diverted to other hospitals despite beds being available,” said Gaikwad.
The dashboard would come up on the PMC website, he added.
Since the outbreak of the pandemic, non-Covid-19 patients are either avoiding going to the hospital or have delayed important surgeries. Now, that the state government has ordered a cap on 80 per cent of the beds and critical care services in private hospitals too, it has been found that many private hospitals have been denying treatment to patients or are diverting them to other hospitals. The dashboard will provide real-time data which will be accessible for residents to know the availability of beds and ventilators, said officials.
Dr Aarti Nimkar, secretary, Indian Medical Association (IMA), Pune, said, “The dashboard system should work if execution is done properly. The administration should also address problems of the hospitals as there is a fear among doctors of the risk of infection. We, as doctors, also want things to go smoothly during this pandemic.”
{{/usCountry}}Dr Aarti Nimkar, secretary, Indian Medical Association (IMA), Pune, said, “The dashboard system should work if execution is done properly. The administration should also address problems of the hospitals as there is a fear among doctors of the risk of infection. We, as doctors, also want things to go smoothly during this pandemic.”
{{/usCountry}}The civic chief has written a letter, dated June 5, to all private hospitals and nursing homes in the city warning them of strict action against hospitals which deny treatment to Covid-19 and non-Covid patients. The letter states, “Non-Covid-19 patients must get treatment without any delay, be it in private hospitals or nursing homes. Hospitals must ensure timely treatment for patients apart from those suffering from Covid-19 infection. Hospitals must ensure that there is no mortality due to lack of medicines or negligence from the hospital’s side.”
On June 1, the district administration formed a committee especially to look into complaints by residents in case of any delay in treatment and any other related complaints. Till date, the district administration has issued show-cause notice to at least two private hospitals after it was found that prima facie the hospitals neglected proper treatment to patients or denied admission.