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Burhanpur reported it's first COVID- 19 case on April 22nd, in a district hospital which is near to Maharashtra Border. The hospital had only one ventilator, fewer doctors, and two serviceable ambulances.
After a month, with 293 COVID- 19 Positive cases and 13 Deaths, the Government managed to get more beds but still, there is a shortage of equipment and doctors.
There have been upgrades since the first case was reported, say officials.
The ANM training center, near the main building of the 200-bed district hospital, has been converted into a 60-bed Level-2 facility for moderate cases. Three BiPap machines, for non-invasive ventilation, have been shifted from the hospital.
A new building block behind the center is being used to quarantine asymptomatic patients, the first Level-1 COVID Care Centre (CCC) in the district.
And, a part of the Government Ayurveda College and Hospital, located a few kilometers away, was “acquired” in the first week of May to serve as the second CCC, which can accommodate nearly 100 cases.
At the ANM facility, where 60 patients are undergoing treatment, not all nine oxygen cylinders earmarked for COVID cases are available together. “We have a serious shortage of doctors, too. Only four MBBS doctors and two MDs, who work in 12-hour shifts, attend to COVID patients. You can imagine the consequences. We treat patients to the best of our understanding. Or else, we refer them to M Y Hospital in Indore, which is about 175 km away,” said Dr. Prateek Navlakhe, one of the doctors on duty.
With only a small board that reads ‘Infection Disease Control’, it is difficult to identify the isolation area in the same compound. “It’s not uncommon for non-COVID patients and their relatives to enter by mistake. The ward boys and sweepers don’t report for work out of fear,” said another doctor, who did not wish to be identified.
“It’s difficult to manage the district hospital with less than 20 doctors. We need at least 60. But we will continue working, whether we get doctors or not,’’ said Civil Surgeon Dr. Shakeel Khan.
Chief Medical and Health Officer Dr. O P Garg is more forthright. “There are less than 10 doctors. And having just one ventilator has made it really difficult. We have sought 10 oxygen concentrators, more BiPap machines, and a portable x-ray machine,’’ he said. “There are PPE kits and masks in sufficient quantity.”
The administration has also drafted All Is Well, a 350-bed hospital that is among the largest private facilities in the state, as a Level-3 facility for severe cases — a respiratory ICU has been created and 15-20 rooms earmarked for suspected cases. Officials said 13 COVID patients are currently undergoing treatment here.
“When COVID hit the town, private practitioners were scared. People suffering from other respiratory illnesses were scared, too, and did not want to go to the government hospital. The system struggled,’’ said Medical Superintendent Dr. Subodh Borle. “But things are in place now”.
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