As Covid-19 cases rise, healthcare infrastructure remains inadequate

Even after over two months of lockdown, the country’s healthcare infrastructure to deal with the coronavirus crisis presents a somewhat sorry picture.

Sample this. An 80-year-old in Gurugram was found to be Covid-19 positive by the hospital authorities when she sought medical assistance for some other ailment. They asked her to leave the premises and search for a Covid-19 authorized hospital.

She was given no support by the hospital authorities in searching one. She had to come back to home. “One of the hospitals which we called for Covid-19 treatment said that there was no bed available, the second one said that it had a bed but no ventilators. Finally, we managed to get her admitted in another hospital, but in all this precious time was lost. More than that, we felt helpless as we had no clue whom to call for assistance,” a family member of the patient told IN on condition of anonymity.

There are many such examples. Another person recounted how she felt helpless when she lost her father as precious time was wasted in testing. In a message, which has gone viral, she explained how her father tested negative for Covid in Delhi in the first round but later he was found be infected.

Several hospitals authorized for Covid refused admission, saying they did not have ventilators. Finally, when he was admitted to a hospital, it was too late. Worse, there was nobody to take his body as her mother was quarantined; she was found infected too. Besides, she was stuck in another city.

Several Covid-19 patients and their families have complained that they have been denied admission in government hospitals after which they have been forced to go to the private ones..