Share
Our Correspondent
Kohima, May 8 (EMN): Senior doctors of some private nursing homes in Kohima have expressed their apprehension in the backdrop of the state government's recent order asking private hospitals to reserve 50% beds to tackle Covid-19 pandemic.
Dr. Vikethonyü Kesiezie, managing director of Oking Hospital and Research Clinic Pvt. Ltd., speaking to Eastern Mirror on Saturday, argued that unless any private or government hospital is converted into a designated Covid-19 care centre, there were risk factors involved in admitting Covid patients in all private nursing homes.
He narrated how Spain, which became one of the highest infected countries, committed a grievous blunder by converting all of its hospitals into Covid-19 centres only to realise later that more transmission of the virus escalated across the country.
The senior doctor wondered why the Naga Hospital Authority Kohima (NHAK), which has over 200 beds, was not reconverted into a Covid-19 hospital like last year when District Hospital Dimapur has been operating as Covid-19 designated hospital ever since the outbreak of the novel coronavirus pandemic.
He questioned why the state government was only utilising the isolation ward of NHAK for admitting Covid patients when the government is backing up the facility with more manpower, doctors and equipment.
The doctor informed that out of the four-five private hospitals in Kohima, some facilities have about 100 beds while others barely have about 20-30 beds. He expressed concern that if 50% beds from private nursing homes are reserved to cater to the needs of Covid patients, there would be high risk of transmitting the disease to other patients and healthcare workers in such facilities.
Kesiezie also shared that private hospitals in Nagaland have no isolation wards and were incomparable to those healthcare centres in the cities where most of them have over 500 or 1000 beds, adding that it was viable for these facilities to easily convert even half a portion of their facilities to treat Covid patients.
He was also apprehensive that manpower required to treat Covid patients in private hospitals in the district would eventually be exhausted as there should be two doctors, three nurses, three attendants and three sweepers round the clock for every Covid patient, after which such medical team should undergo quarantine for five to seven days.
"Unless there is so much manpower, it's not practical," he said, adding that "it reflects with all hospitals, whether big or small".
Sensing how Covid patients are being stigmatised by the people, he feared that if any Covid-infected person is admitted to any of the private nursing homes, there were high chances of developing panic and people, including other patients might not visit such facilities.
In such a situation, he voiced concern that private hospitals would operate at a loss and eventually 'collapse as they don't get any help from the government'.
"We will be facing practical problems in a private set up," he shared.
The doctor also shared how private hospitals could still continue to refer patients to NHAK on detection of any Covid patients like last year.
"We need to have one Covid centre to come up whether in a private or government hospital so that the spread (of Covid) becomes less.
“I'm not against the government but it should come up with policies in the right way towards the containment of the virus from spreading. We need to have a lockdown to curb the spread of Covid. Likewise, we need a separate hospital for Covid patients," he opined.
Informing that there were about 40 ventilators altogether from both private and government hospitals in the district, he said they were not even in a position to treat 100 symptomatic patients when their cases become complicated.
He wondered whether the 'government is pumping in money for Covid preparedness,' while saying that both government and private hospitals "should be ready" to tackle Covid-19 positive cases. "We are facing a reality here. It's scary," he added.
However, with a fully designated Covid centre, Kesiezie is optimistic that they could give first aid to the patients and send them to the designated facility for emergency treatment.
"We need to help; it's a calling," he said, adding: "We are here to treat people but not all private hospitals should be converted into Covid centres.”
He reiterated that only if a dedicated Covid centre is set up would they be able to sustain the spread of the pandemic otherwise "it's not going to help".
Another medical practitioner from a private nursing home in Kohima, who wished to remain anonymous, also expressed apprehensions, saying that "what the government is doing is just not practical".
Stating that almost all private hospitals in the state are "small set ups," he said it would be hard for them to keep a separate wing for Covid patients.
"In our own little way, we will do whatever is possible. But keeping 50% Covid patients is not practical," he said, adding, "We will treat whoever we can treat; whoever we can't treat, we can't treat".
He opined that the government should convert a hospital exclusively for Covid patient and that it wasn’t feasible to treat Covid patients (50% beds) in the same facility because of the possibility of spreading the virus to non-Covid patients. "We have very little manpower so it's difficult," he added.
He also suggested that NHAK should be designated as Covid hospital, pointing out that the facility has "so much manpower and all the governmental help with the oxygen generation plant coming up".
"The government is just trying to escape its responsibilities (by asking private hospitals to reserve 50% beds for Covid patients)," he claimed.