KOLKATA: A few private hospitals in Kolkata are planning to restrict admission of Covid patients to only those who have comorbidities or low oxygen saturation levels to keep wards and beds free to continue non-Covid treatment. Covid patients with just fever as symptom will be advised to stay in home isolation under the hospital's supervision with a promise to admit them in case their condition worsens.
Some have already started doing it.
Three Covid deaths have been reported from a private hospital this week and the number of critical patients has increased, though the majority have a mild disease, say hospitals.
Peerless Hospital plans to restrict admission to only those who have severe comorbidities or low oxygen saturation levels. The hospital now has 36 Covid patients, including 11 on oxygen support and one on ventilation. But the rest had mild to moderate symptoms that could be managed at home, said CEO Sudipta Mitra. "We admitted eight patients on Thursday, of whom five did not require oxygen support. From now on, we will advise these patients to stay at home under our doctors' supervision. Or else it will be difficult to accommodate non-Covid patients, many of whom are admitted for surgeries. We are not eager to convert more wards into Covid units now," added Mitra.
Peerless now has 30 Covid patients in home isolation under their supervision, including some of their staff. The hospital has 275 non-Covid patients.
Woodlands Hospital, too, has stopped advising admission to Covid patients without comorbidities irrespective of their age. Instead, home isolation was being advised to break the chain of transmission, said CEO & managing director Rupali Basu. "Admission is recommended only when there are non-resolving fever, worsening of cough and intractable diarrhoea in Covid patients of any age group," said Basu.
Charnock Hospital, too, has been advising home isolation for young Covid patients without comorbidities. "They are being asked to stay at home for seven days and return to us if the fever continues or other issues develop," said MD Prashant Sharma.
The non-Covid patient flow at RN Tagore International Institute of Cardiac Sciences was at its peak, said zonal head R Venkatesh. "All the younger Covid patients without comorbidities are opting for home isolation on suggestion in order to make way for non-Covid patients. Covid patients under home isolation are provided teleconsultation by our doctors and are under their direct care and supervision," he added.
At Medica Superspecialty, most of the 32 Covid patients had a moderate disease, said chairperson Alok Roy. "We plan to start restrict admission to only the comorbid, elderly patients and those with low oxygen," he said.
Since the number of severe cases and deaths remained low, admission needed to be screened, felt Peerless Hospital CEO Mitra. "Or we will fill our wards with mild Covid patients, while the more severe ones and non-Covid patients will be denied admission," he said. While 36 of Peerless's 42 Covid beds are now occupied, opening up of another ward could mean addition of 50 beds. "Those will take time to fill up but an equal number of non-Covid patients will be denied admission, along with severe Covid patients," he said.
While those with fever could stay at home, the elderly with comorbidities needed hospital care, said CMRI pulmonology director Raja Dhar. "Those with breathing distress, irrespective of age, need admission, too," he said.
