Bhubaneswar: In the wake of rising COVID-19 cases in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack, the state government Tuesday directed Collectors and CDMOs not to rush patients from other places to twin cities in a routine manner.
“The COVID patients requiring critical care should be first managed in ICU/HDU of all districts instead of being referred to Bhubaneswar or Cuttack in a routine manner,” Health & Family Welfare (H&FW) additional chief secretary PK Mohapatra wrote to all the Collectors, municipal commissioners and chief district medical officers (CDMOs).
He directed the officials to provide training at grassroots level and district-level hospitals to ensure proper patient management and reduce referrals.
The hospitals at district and lower levels have been instructed to follow the notified referral policy to enable seamless coordination between the sending and receiving hospitals. “Patients insisting on being referred to Bhubaneswar or Cuttack should be counselled and dissuaded, as there is life risk in transport,” he said.
During shifting of critical patients, emergency medical technician should be sent along so that the patients do not develop hypoxia. Unless stable, no patient should not be transported, he said. He advised to give Remdesivir medicine to moderate patients.
To decrease the load on ICU, the additional chief secretary directed the COVID hospitals to have step-down ICU facility half the no of ICU beds. The patients who become stable in ICU will be shifted to the step-down ICU.
The officials were directed to closely monitor and focus on early stage treatment so that fewer patients become serious. Care should be taken for early detection of lungs infection. The government also advised to adopt the concept of virtual ICU so that appropriate care can be given through expert advice from remote tertiary hospital level.
Instructions were given to have more number of dialysis beds, maternity beds, oncology beds, trauma care beds for COVID patients in peripheral facilities.
Diagnostic facilities such as CT scan (interpreted by radiologist) and ultrasound of lungs will be strengthened in peripheral hospitals. Wherever possible, trained manpower can be mobilised from low-burden districts to high burden districts, he added.
