‘SGPGI sets its own rules for dengue patients’ admission’
LUCKNOW: There seems to be no end to the ordeal of Arjun, 42, of Unnao who recently brought his 15-year-old son, who is suffering from dengue, to Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute (SGPGI) here.
When he approached the Emergency ward, he was told that his son cannot be admitted to the ward because his platelet count was still above 10,000 and he was not bleeding.
Arjun had no option but to admit his son to a private hospital in Indira Nagar here.
“Despite telling the staff that the doctors in Unnao had advised his son’s admission in SGPGI as his platelet count had come down to 15,000 and the platelet count could be reduce further within minutes, the SGPGI doctors refused admission,” said Arjun.
Recently, poet Aman Chandpuri died while undergoing treatment in SGPGI. His friends feel that had they brought the patient directly to PGI instead of getting him treated in a private hospital first his life could have been saved. “They did not bring him to SGPGI first because of these strange rules for admitting patients,” his friends said.
Another noted poet Sarvesh Asthana said, “I feel very sad for Am an Chandp uri because he was just 22-years-old and his life was lost because of strange rules of the hospital, which says that they will not admit a patient unless the platelet count comes under 10,000 or patient starts bleeding. The doctors in the institute are just trying to avoid the dengue patients. They think they can set their own rules for admission, they don’t have any respect for human lives.”
However, chief medical superintendent of Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute (SGPGI) professor Amit Agarwal says, “People forget that PGI is a super-specialty institute. We cannot admit patients who can be treated at the level of PHC and CHC. Dengue patients can also be treated at district hospitals. Only serious cases should be brought to SGPGI so that we can save their lives.”
He added, “We have treated 10 dengue patients till now. We have kept 20 beds reserved for such patients. Seven departments are providing services, on seven different days of the week, to attend to the dengue patients.”
› People forget that PGI is a super-specialty institute. We cannot admit patients who can be treated at the level of PHC and CHC. Dengue patients can also be treated at district hospitals AMIT AGARWAL, CMS, SGPGI
LUCKNOW: Do not panic over card test results for diagnosing dengue, instead wait for results from Elisa test, say experts.
“The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) test is the one that confirms dengue while the card test is just a screening test,” said Dr Narendra Agrawal, chief medical officer, Lucknow.
“In card test, there are chances of incorrect report, hence we advise ELISA test. Two out of five card test reports on dengue might be incorrect, so a confirmatory test will be better,” said Dr KP Tripathi, in-charge, vector borne control programme.
Card tests by private labs come with a high price tag. “Private labs do not get any logistic support from the government, hence they charge for the tests they conduct. But if there is any complaint with regard to the charges for card tests, we will take action against the lab. This may include cancellation of registration with the office of CMO,” said Agrawal.
“We also take reports from private labs seriously. If a case is reported, we conduct source reduction exercise in the patients’ house and neighbourhood areas and ask them to go for ELISA confirmatory test. But the case is registered as a dengue case only after confirmatory test,” said Tripathi.
The city has four centres for confirmatory test – KGMU, SGPGI, Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Institute and state lab, run by the health department. The maximum tests are being conducted at the KGMU, said doctors.
THE CITY HAS FOUR CENTRES FOR CONFIRMATORY TEST – KGMU, SGPGI, DR RAM MANOHAR LOHIA INSTITUTE AND STATE LAB, RUN BY THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT