Situation at Naidu hospital eases

PUNE: With the opening of 15 screening centres for the H1N1 flu, the rush of people to the Naidu hospital reduced considerably on Friday. Though over 750 people had visited the hospital by early evening there was much order to the proceedings due to efficient management by the hospital staff.
The biggest problem that citizens had been facing till now at the Naidu hospital was that of standing in queues for long hours.Now, with seating arrangements, those in queues waited for their turn in some comfort. Also, the two-hour waiting period to see the medical officers reduced to a maximum of half an hour on Friday. The tin shades put up on Thursday, served as a protection from the sudden drizzle in the afternoon.
Even the hospital staff looked more at ease. "Due to the increase in the number of doctors here and the experience that we have acquired over the past two days, it was easier to handle the crowd on Friday. Also, the 15 other screening centres decreased the number of people coming here," said a hospital staff. As an extra precautionary measure, the hospital premises were being fogged at regular intervals.
Many of the people waiting in the queues were referred to Naidu from other screening centres and by general practitioners. The number of people coming in for casual check-ups has gone down considerably. "My daughter is not keeping well for the past one week. Our family doctor put her on saline. But since her condition did not improve, he asked us to take her for a swab test. The doctors here are cooperative and have conducted the test. They said we will be informed once the report comes in," said the mother of a 12-year-old girl.
The helpline number, according to a doctor who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said, "We have six phones at the Naidu hospital and all of them have been ringing continuously. I alone have taken over 150 calls. Most of the callers are panic-stricken and ask questions like Do we need to come to the hospital if my child sneezes' or Our family doctor has said that ours is a normal flu, still should we come there as precaution'."