Pvt hosps get ambulances to pick up, drop off patients
Times of India | 29 August 2024
Kolkata: Several private hospitals had to ferry emergency patients who were either stranded or failed to find transport on Wednesday. Ambulances carried several critical patients and those whose surgeries were lined up. Despite the arrangement, hundreds had to defer admission and non-emergency surgeries scheduled on the day were cancelled.
Attendance at OPDs, too, dropped by 20%-35% across Kolkata’s private hospitals.
At Manipal Hospitals, OPD attendance dipped by 5%-6% across its four units, said Ayanabh DebGupta, regional COO of Manipal. “Patients from outside the city failed to make it to the hospital, resulting in the drop,” DebGupta said.
OPD footfall dropped by 20% at BP Poddar Hospital, which arranged pick-up and drop-off for patients within a 7-km radius. “Although we arranged pick-and-drop services for nearby patients, we continue to offer online video consultations for those from distant places. This decision was made in light of the heavy patient load we’ve been experiencing. Though footfall was marginally low on Wednesday, with online consultations, we clocked almost 92% of the regular patient count at OPD,” said BP Poddar group adviser Supriyo Chakrabarty.
“Some of our patients from the outskirts or other districts, who had booked OPD appointments, could not come. We received a 35% lower OPD footfall compared to our daily average. In anticipation of such challenges, we planned online video consultations for most patients,” Chakrabarty added.
Desun Hospital saw a significant slide in OPD attendance. “We arranged ambulances for emergency admissions of critical patients. A few cardiac patients have deferred their appointments by a day or two,” said director Shaoli Dutta.
Charnock Hospital saw a dip of 15%-20% in OPD footfall.