Pressure grows on pvt hospitals as protest continues in state facilities
Times of India | 25 August 2024
Kolkata: The agitation across govt hospitals has led to a diversion of patients to private hospitals and nursing homes, several of which have seen a swell in OPD footfalls and admissions over last one week. The rise in patient volume ranges between 10% and 40% and has been aided by the return of Bangladeshi patients at some hospitals.
Hospital authorities have been forced to extend OPD hours and requested doctors to attend to more patients to meet the extra load.
At RN Tagore International Institute of Cardiac Sciences (RTIICS), patient flow has increased by ‘around 40% this week and is nearing normalcy’, said Narayana Hospitals COO R Venkatesh. “This has been triggered partly by diversion of patients from govt hospitals. The Bangladeshi patient flow has gone up this week, reaching 60% of original volumes,” said Venkatesh.
At B P Poddar Hospital, patient volume has increased by 30%-35% over the last six-seven days. “We have extended our OPD hours and requested most of our doctors to accommodate additional slots. Despite running at full capacity, we are having to refuse 20-30 admissions daily. To address this, our patient services team is working round the clock to expedite the discharge process and reduce the number of refusals,” said group adviser Supriyo Chakrabarty. He added that operation theatres are working overtime to manage the increased volume of surgical cases.
“We have added five temporary beds at our emergency to accommodate patients who require urgent attention. While these patients are being prioritized for treatment, they are also being monitored through video consultation after discharge,” said Chakrabarty.
The uncertainty at state hospitals has resulted in a sudden increase in patient flow at Desun Hospital, according to Shaoli Dutta, director of Desun Group. “As services remain disrupted in some govt institutions, many patients are seeking timely and effective medical care in private hospitals like ours. We have observed a rise of 18% over the past two weeks. This includes both critical and non-critical cases. Additionally, we have also witnessed an increase in the number of patients from Bangladesh,” added Dutta.
Bangladeshi patient flow has started climbing at Manipal Hospitals as well. On Friday, Manipal received 29 new Bangladesh patients across three units. “The numbers have started going up from Aug 16 as new visas are being issued again. The average daily footfall has been 15, including admissions and OPD patients,” said a Manipal representative.
Techno India DAMA Hospital has seen a rise of 10% in the number of patients. “Most are critical cases which have come to us because of the strike, apart from some surgical cases that have been delayed at govt hospitals,” said M S Purkait, medical superintendent of the hospital. He added that the hospital has also seen a marginal rise of 5% in patients from Bangladesh due to the gradual improvement in situation there and revival of visa issuance. “Most Bangladeshi patients we are receiving now are here for chemotherapy. Most are elderly patients already on a chemotherapy cycle, apart from a few infertility cases which are approaching term," said Purkait.
Disha Eye Hospitals have seen a 25% rise in patients. “These are patients who need regular check-ups and previous surgeries that may have got delayed at govt facilities,” said Debashish Bhattacharya, CMD of Disha Eye Hospitals. Charnock Hospital has seen a slight rise in Bangladesh patients, though its overall OPD footfall remains unchanged.