No surgery, less OPDS at Patiala, Amritsar GMCS for a month

THE STATE DIRECTORATE OF RESEARCH AND MEDICAL EDUCATION SAYS AS THE INFLOW OF CORONAVIRUS PATIENTS INCREASED, IT REQUIRES MORE HEALTHCARE STAFF

AMRITSAR: Amid spurt in coronavirus cases and shortage of healthcare staff in the state, the Government Medical College and Hospitals (GMCH) of Amritsar and Patiala will reduce the units for outpatient departments (OPDS) and will not conduct elective surgeries for the next one month as the staff will be assigned Covid-related duties.

The Punjab directorate of research and medical education on Tuesday wrote a letter to the principals of Government Medical Colleges of Amritsar and Patiala and announced the temporary changes, to be considered for a month.

“In view of the surge in Covid-19 cases, the hospital authorities are directed to postpone all the elective surgeries. Also, the number of units conducting OPDS on a single day will be reduced. The authorities have also been directed to club the indoor ward units, as per the workload. Also, it must be ensured that the emergency sersurgeries vices, maternal and child health (MCH) services, and trauma services are provided without any interruption,” reads the letter.

Elective surgery is a procedure scheduled in advance because it does not involve a medical emergency.

“The Punjab health department is reeling under acute staff shortage, which is more visible after the Covid-19 outbreak. Most of the hospital staff has been assigned Covid-related duties for long hours. Also, most of the Covid patients are getting admitted to government hospitals. The decisions were taken after specialist doctors were missing their Covid-related duties to perform the elective and the health staff contracting the infection due to direct contact with the patients at OPDS,” said a senior doctor at the Government Medical College, Amritsar.