Patients queue up at private hospitals

New Delhi: Many Find Cost Prohibitive But Have No Option As Govt Facilities Packed

The panic created by dengue and chikungunya has not only overcrowded government

hospitals

, but also driven hundreds to the city's

private

hospitals. Among them are many patients being treated at clinics and nursing homes who hope to get better treatment in the bigger hospitals.

At the Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals in Sarita Vihar, 80% of the patients arriving at the emergency ward are suspected to be suffering from dengue and chikungunya. “We are allotting emergency ward beds only in serious cases,“ said a senior doctor on Wednesday . “Pa tients are waiting for up to eight hours to get beds.“

Rehan Azim, running high fever for three days, reached Apollo at 9 in the morning. “I don't know when I will be admitted,“ he said, having waited a while. “My platelet count is very low and my body is in pain, but the medical staff wants to conduct another check before they admit me.“

Sunil Verma, diagnosed with chikungunya, also shifted to Apollo on Tuesday . “I was in a nursing home in east Delhi, but I felt the treatment wasn't satisfactory ,“ he said.

At Max Super Speciality Hospital in Saket, the beds in the wards have been tripled. “ A general ward usually has six beds, but that number has gone up to 14 in every ward,“ said Dr Akshay Jhingal, a senior doctor there. Among the patients there is Mohammad Nihal, a resident of Hauz Khas. “I was having severe body pain for the last few days, so I came here for a checkup. I've come to know I am suffering from chikungunya and have been told to be admitted here,“ he said. “But I don't have money for treatment here. I am wondering what to do.“ Costs are deterring many seeking admission in private hospitals, with some even alleging that the hospitals are citing lack of beds to put patients in the costlier wards. “Though there were vacant beds in the general ward, they kept my husband in a private suite,“ claimed Arwa Nagraj at Batra Hospital in Tughlakabad.

However, Dr Yogendra Tomar, deputy medical superintendent at Batra, said, “We test the patients and ask the patients to go home after administering conservative treatment and medicines. We admit only patients with very low platelet counts.“ He said with even people running a mild fever seeking admission, the hospital staff is having a hard time.