At Rajindra hospital Patiala, 55% deaths within 48 hrs of admission

Karam Prakash

Tribune News Service

Patiala, September 7

Delay in reaching hospitals, along with lack of tertiary healthcare facilities, seems to be proving fatal for Covid patients in the Malwa region. As per records, 55 per cent of Covid deaths at Government Rajindra Hospital, which caters to 10 districts of the state, took place within 48 hours of admission of patients.

Experts are attributing this to the delay in providing tertiary healthcare and ICU facilities to the patients. There are only three government-run tertiary care hospitals in the state. Of the 348 Covid deaths at the hospital till Saturday, 40 per cent had taken place within 24 hours of admission, while 55 per cent of patients had died within 48 hours of admission. Most of the patients were referrals, whose SPO2 levels were alarming, said the hospital authorities. A doctor said: “Dialysis of Covid patients is available at the Rajindra hospital only. Even patients from Ferozepur district are referred here, which is at a distance of 200 km from Ferozepur.”

Surbhi Malik, IAS and incharge of the Covid ward at the hospital, said many patients were declared brought dead when they reached the hospital. This led to a spike in the number of Covid deaths. “Sometimes, it is clinically impossible to save patients when their oxygen levels are critically low. Also, despite having the best facilities and doctors, there is a spike in the number of deaths, because of the delay in admission of patients,” she said.