District Hospital Dimapur running out of ICU, HDU beds as Covid cases surge

Our Reporter
Dimapur, May 5 (EMN): As Covid-19 cases continue to rise in Nagaland, one of the main entry points to the state – Dimapur — has been overwhelmed with Covid positive cases, and the district hospital is running out of beds for severe cases.

An official from District Hospital Dimapur (DHD) told Eastern Mirror all the 11 high-dependency unit (HDU) beds in the facility are “all occupied” by Covid patients while the intensive care unit (ICU) beds are “almost full”.

The source informed that the DHD was converted into a Covid-19 hospital two days ago and all OPDs and other routine treatment as well as operations have been stopped ‘for now’ and they are only attending to patients who require immediate treatment.

He said that the facility would continue to operate as Covid-19 hospital till “this problem is over”. He also mentioned that the hospital authorities were discussing the option of looking for an alternate site to treat patients for emergency cases, as citizens, especially the poorer sections who can’t afford to avail treatment at private hospitals, need their service.

“We are looking for private or government facility where we can do operations and take care of the patients for emergency cases,” the official said.

He added that there were 33 patients in the Covid ward at present and those in the ICU have been there for three to four days, with some of them slowly improving.

He stated that people who come early for treatment have better chance of going home quickly.

‘But those patients who come late, no matter what the doctors do, within few hours they pass away,’ he said, adding that such cases create problem because ‘they come in very bad shape and their chances of survival becomes low even if the doctors try their best’.

No shortage

The official maintained that there was ‘no shortage of anything’ in the hospital for now and everything was running smoothly. He further shared with this newspaper that doctors, nurses, ambulance drivers, sweepers and attendants were all working in roster system, wherein they undergo quarantine after their turn.

It was informed that the government was providing diet for the Covid patients and healthcare workers.

Covid patients are admitted only in the district hospital and Christian Institute of Health Sciences and Research (CIHSR) but the official shared that the CIHSR has given ‘very less beds in ICU and Covid wards’.

He informed that symptomatic Covid-19 patients are admitted to the Covid ward in the hospital but asymptomatic cases could opt for home isolation. However, those who cannot be in home isolation due to lack of facility are sent to Covid Care Centre.

‘And once the symptomatic persons are recovered and become asymptomatic, they are either sent for home isolation or to Covid Care centre,’ he added.

Oxygen generation plant

Regarding the oxygen generation plant which will be set up in the hospital, the official informed that installation work will commence after technicians return from District Hospital Mokokchung, where they are currently setting up a similar facility.

He said that the site for the oxygen plant at the hospital is ready, power line connected and generator backup prepared. He expressed hope that the engineers would arrive this week and that it would not take much time to install once work begins.