Top Delhi hospitals become mosquitoe breeding grounds during monsoons
Cases of dengue and malaria are on the rise in campuses of AIIMS, Safdarjung hospital and Lady Harding medical college (LHMC).
In Short
- Doctors also catching the infection.
- Major hospitals facing acute shortage of doctors.
- Delhi govt lists sensitive areas which list many hospitals.
Leading hospitals in Delhi, instead of curing and rehabilitating its sick, have become a breeding ground for mosquitoes in the rainy season, exposing thousands of patients to the deadly dengue bug. Cases of dengue and malaria are on the rise in campuses of AIIMS, Safdarjung hospital and Lady Harding medical college (LHMC).
VIRAL FEVER,CHIKANGUNYA, DENGUE EPIDEMIC
With the increasing footfall of patients in the emergency department of the hospital, the doctors are also catching the infection. According to sources, more than 100 resident doctors at AIIMS and their families have fallen prey to high fever, chickungunya or dengue so far this season.
Delhi had reported its second dengue death on Friday, with one 38-year-old Nazesh falling to the vector-borne disease.
The first death was reported on July 21 of a 17-year-old girl who died at Lok Nayak hospital on July 21. The national capital has so far reported 171 cases of dengue, a figure which is highest in the last five years.
In 2015, a total of 119 cases of dengue were reported from Delhi till August 8th.
ACUTE SHORTAGE OF DOCTORS
"We are left with no other options and are moving to private hospital for the treatment. Nothing is being done to tackle the situation at the campus. The resident doctors are also not getting beds," said Dr Vijay Kumar, president, Residents' Doctor Association (RDA), AIIMS.
The country's premier institute has been facing acute shortage of doctors with only seven senior resident doctors left in the emergency department of the hospital.
"There is an acute shortage of doctors in the emergency ward. At present, there are only seven senior resident doctors who are managing the work for more than 1,000 patients. There are posts for 20 doctors in the department. We are equally helpless and cannot work in this situation," said a senior doctor from AIIMS requesting anonymity.
The AIIMS administration, on the other hand has scheduled an interview to fill vacant positions in the coming months.
"There is an interview scheduled soon and after due processes we will definitely fill in all the vacant posts," said Dr DK Sharma, medical superintendent, AIIMS.
Not only AIIMS, but medical staff at other hospitals like Safdarjung, LHMC and RML is also falling ill. "Four-five doctors in our campus have been diagnosed with chickungunya and many more have dengue symptoms. There is a lot of construction work going on in the hospital premises which has been left in middle," a senior doctor from LHMC told Mail Today.
LIST OF SENSITIVE AREAS
The Delhi government has also prepared a list of sensitive areas in Delhi that includes many government hospitals like Babu Jagjivan Ram hospital, AIIMS, Safdarjung hospital, Lady Hardinge Medical College (LHMC), Ram Manohar Lohia hospital and the National Chest Institute.
"All these areas have been identified under the sites which need special care. We are conducting regular awareness programmes and are insisting on continuous fumigation in these areas. We are focusing more on preventive measures this year," said Dr SM Raheja, additional director general of health services (ADGHS), Delhi government.
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