The Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Post Graduate Institute of Paediatrics at Cuttack, popularly known as Sishu Bhavan, has shut down its out patient department (OPD) for indefinite period following detection of a corona positive case.
Superintendent of Sishu Bhavan, the premier child care hospital of the state, Prof Saroj Satpathy told reporters, “The OPD will remain closed till further order. However, the emergency service will continue.”
Officials maintained that a child from the nearby Salepur block, about 20 km from Cuttack, was brought for treatment to the OPD last Friday. The swab of the child was sent for Covid-19 test and it turned out to be positive.
“As soon as the report came, we decided to close down the OPD. Disinfection process is going on. All care will be taken to stop the spread of corona cases,” said Satpathy.
The entire health sector of the state has been badly hit by Covid-19. The health workers are in panic. Even the doctors are so sacred that they are avoiding visiting patients admitted in the ICU (Intensive Care Units) at times.
A mother, whose baby had been admitted to Sishu Bhavan narrated her harrowing experience.
“When my three-and-a-half month son Jyotisman’s health condition deteriorated, I admitted him to the Sishu Bhavan. For the next 12-hours no doctor came to see him. After his Covid test was done and it was found negative, he was shifted to the SCB Medical College. But no doctor came to see my child.
“As his condition worsened, I shifted him on Saturday to a private medical college and hospital in Bhubaneswar,” said 29-year-old Jayshree Samal, whose husband, a migrant worker, returned from Delhi following the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic.
Samal said: “Here in the private hospital, one needs to bear the cost of the personal protective equipment (PPE) used by the staff of the hospital for treatment of the child. The treatment is costly in the private sector. But I have no option left.”
While patients continue to suffer, corona positive cases are being reported from hospitals as well.
More than 100 corona positive cases have so far been detected from the Acharya Harihar Cancer Centre (ARHCC), Cuttack, and nearly 30 cases have been found in the SCB Medical College and Hospital Cuttack. Though the OPD of the Cancer Centre has re-opened, patients are yet to turn up for treatment fearing infection.
In view of the pandemic situation, Cuttack collector Bhabani Shankar Chayani on Monday urged people not to visit the collectorate for submission of their grievances and said they can file their complaints online.
As many as 190 positive cases have been found in Cuttack alone. The city is in shut down mode till July 8 midnight.
So far, Odisha has registered 9,526 Covid-19 cases with 38 deaths.
Health secretary P.K. Mohapatra told The Telegraph, “We have asked the medical authorities to follow the SOP strictly and any lapses will cost us dearly. We have decided to carry out an antigen test of persons with suspected Covid-19 symptoms. The antigen test results will be available within two to three hours.”
Sources said the test will be undertaken at the SCB Medical College, ARHCC and Sishu Bhavan in the first phase.
The antigen detection test yields results quickly and they are often used for a first laboratory investigation in a suspected case.
In a related development, the Directorate of Medical Education and Training has asked the AIIMS, Bhubaneswar to admit coronavirus positive patients for treatment.
