Hyderabad: Oxygen facility at Charminar Dawakhana can help Old City Covid patients

Charminar: The State Government has taken up several measures to augment healthcare facilities and decided to bring the old government general hospitals of the city into use, but still, the Nizamia General Hospital (Charminar Dawakhana) is yet to convert into a Covid care. One reason could be that it lacks an oxygen facility.

As the second wave of the virus is spreading, the Government has taken up several measures, including setting up more temporary Covid Care Centres in function halls, area community halls, and working on stepping up bed strength with oxygen facility and ventilators, but the Charminar Dawakhana is treating only asymptomatic patients and is yet to convert as a Covid care centre.

By observing the situation getting worse and many complaints of non-availability of beds, the State Government has undertaken specific measures to increase the Covid Care facility in the city and started looking for the existing government hospitals, which can be turned into full-fledged Covid care hospitals.

Apart from Osmania General Hospital, the Charminar Dawakhana is one of the major government with a large number of beds in the parts of the Old City, and the Covid patients who are admitted in the hospital were referred to Covid treating hospitals due to lack of oxygen and ventilator beds in the hospital.

According to a doctor at Charminar Dawakhana, who requested anonymity, said that last March the hospital was converted into Covid Level-1 treatment centre by allocating senior allopathy doctors who were treating patients. Later it was converted into an isolation centre. Now the second wave of Covid is more severe than the first one. Patients are turning critical within a short span of time. They need oxygen and ventilators.

"As of now, the hospital is conducting tests, and if one reported positive with asymptomatic condition, the hospital is admitting and treating them. If the patient's condition is turning critical or in need of oxygen, the patient is referred to a Covid treating hospital," said the doctor.

"Last year, when it was Level-1 treatment, the government had provided the basic amenities and extended beds up to 250 beds. But now there is no oxygen or ventilator beds in the hospital and the patients with such severe conditions were asked to be admitted in Covid hospital," he said.

"Recently, a resident of Old City, who was admitted to the hospital after testing positive with mild symptoms, but later he experienced breathlessness. As his oxygen saturation level was decreasing rapidly, he was immediately rushed to Covid treating hospital," said the doctor.

There are several such cases that were observed in the last few weeks. The patients were referred to other hospitals due to the non-availability of an oxygen facility.