Kol pvt hosps start clearing OPD and surgery backlog
Times of India | 31 August 2024
Kolkata: Several private hospitals are grappling with a sudden spurt in OPD footfall after two days of cease work observed by doctors last week, followed by several other agitation-triggered disruptions this week that made commute difficult for patients and their families. Deferred surgeries are also being rescheduled at some hospitals that had cancelled operations slated for Tuesday and Wednesday.
Peerless Hospital had just 60% of the usual OPD footfall on Tuesday.“There have been at least four days of disruption since last week. This bandh and the agitations were unexpected. During Wednesday’s bandh, we saw a 30% drop in OPD footfall. We have requested our doctors to attend to a few extra patients every day to clear the backlog,” said Peerless Hospital CEO Sudipta Mitra.
Desun Hospital has rescheduled appointments of 25% patients in OPD and daycare this week. These patients were scheduled to visit between Tuesday and Thursday but chose to defer their appointments due to the Nabanna march and the bandh. “As many of our patients travel from across Bengal, this has resulted in a sudden spurt in consultations per day for doctors, especially in neurology, orthopaedic and paediatric departments. Planned admissions have been rescheduled to the end of this week till the beginning of next week for cardiac surgery and cancer patients,” director Shaoli Dutta said.
At Ruby General Hospital, where OPD footfall had dropped by 40% on Wednesday, a rush has prevailed over the last two days. “Since Thursday, we have seen OPD footfall surge to 650-700, which is significantly above normal. This is due to the cancellation of appointments earlier this week. Doctors are being forced to attend to more patients and spend extra hours at the OPD,” said general manager – operations Subhasish Datta.
“The favourable weather also played a role, as many patients who had scheduled video consultations chose to visit the OPD in person. Over the past week, online consultations have helped us reduce a significant percentage of patient load. Additionally, we are prioritizing emergency cases. Elective procedures, like knee replacements, are being rescheduled. Our OPD is now operating for extended hours. We currently have an OPD backlog of 5%-12%, which we expect to clear in the next four-five days,” said BP Poddar group advisor Supriyo Chakrabarty.
Some doctors are finding it difficult to cope with the additional pressure. Prashant Pandey, consultant medical oncologist at BP Poddar Hospital, said, “We have extended our OPD hours to handle the additional load, with most seeing five-seven patients more daily on an average.
“We have since seen a surge in patients and are working to accommodate everyone. Our doctors are now attending to more patients daily,” said Debashis Dhar, vice-president of ILS Hospitals.