Full house at hospitals as people press panic button

New Delhi: Strained by feverish crowds that are thronging their corridors, all major hospitals in the city have started temporary clinics to deal with complaints about mosquito-borne diseases.There is such a panic about

dengue

and chikungunya that the people are rushing to the

hospital

at the merest sign of fever.

Doctors say that people with slight fever could go to local clinics instead. “We are getting 200 patients for every 40 beds,“ said an exasperated Dr Anil Rathinasabapathy , resident medical officer, LNJP Hospital. Safdarjung Hospital in south Delhi had to convert its psychiatric ward into a fever clinic to examine outdoor patients with symptoms of dengue and chikungunya. “With the general wards filled, we had to convert the psychiatric ward into a full-fledged clinic,“ explained Dr Vaibhav Srivastava.

In a similar response at Guru Tegh Bahadur Hospital in Dilshad Garden, the administration decided to accommodate patients in the usually unoccupied private wards. “We are using the empty beds there for dengue and chikungunya patients because of the massive paucity of beds in the general wards,“ said a senior doctor. Nurse Hema Devi said that though only serious cases are being admitted, there still was a shortage of beds. “The majority of patients have chi kungunya,“ said Devi.

Dr Tarun Anand in Safdarjung's fever clinic said there was panic even in the outlying villages. “People are not taking any chances and are travelling far for examination in the city hospitals,“ he said.Said 23-year-old Hira Singh: “I was running a fever for two days, so I decided to get myself checked. There are very few doctors here but a lot of patients.“ She eventually tested negative for both.

Most of the people are taking the precaution of having them selves tested for either of the disease. Shehnaz Jawed, ferried her mother to LNJP from Wazirabad because “we already had two cases of dengue in our family, and I couldn't take any risk“.

Chetna Gupta, a 45-year-old resident of Faridabad, came to the Safdarjung Hospital with complaints of excessive body pain and swollen joints. She was diagnosed with chikungunya. “We have an open pond beside our house and the place is a breeding ground for mosquitoes,“ said Harish Gupta, her husband.