Gurugram, Delhi hospitals struggle with bed shortage

GURUGRAM/NEWDELHI: With the district health department confirming 109 positive cases of swine flu as of Thursday, private hospitals in Gurugram are contending with a crippling shortage of beds.

Less than 1% people with seasonal flu, which includes swine flu caused by the Influenza A (H1N1) virus, need treatment for flu-related complications.

Most people with the flu report mild illness, and do not need medical care or antiviral drugs and recover without medical treatment in less than a week.

Dr Piyush Goel, pulmonologist at Columbia Asia Hospital in Palam Vihar, said swine flu patients need to be isolated as per the government’s rules; but the hospital only has two isolation beds.

“Due to the shortage of beds, we are advising patients who test positive for flu but are mostly stable to stay at home in isolation. Only patients with underlying medical conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, or those on cancer treatment, post-transplant patients on immune suppressants etc. being admitted at the hospital,” he said.

The only people who need hospitalisation are some people in category-b and most category-c patients, as categorised by the government in their flu advisory.

Dr Manoj Goel, pulmonologist at Fortis Hospital in Sector 44, said patients who have severe chest infection or breathing difficulty are taken to the isolation ward in the ICU while the patients who are stable are being shifted to single rooms in the hospital.

Delhi’s hospitals are burdened with a similar problem as well.

Even with the government earmarking 1,000 beds for fever cases needing hospitalisation and allowing private hospitals to increase their bed strength by up to 20%, it’s nearly impossible to get a hospital bed as people with even mild fever who test positive for swine flu insist on getting admitted.

“Beds are always full because of the patient load in our country,” said Dr DS Rana, chairman, board of management, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital.

“But seasonal diseases aggravate the problem as most of those who test positive for swine flu or dengue, want to get admitted for treatment.”

The hospital has created an additional six-bed fever ward to treat fever cases in addition to two isolation rooms for H1N1positive patients. The wait time for elective cases goes up during this time from the usual 2-3 days to 4-6 days.

Deepankur Mohania, 41, said she was being treated in the H1N1 ward at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital since Wednesday.