1.20 am , hospital’s emergency My frontline doctors sweating in PPE which they have been wearing for last six hours .A 12 year old boy of altered consciousness, breathlessness, high grade fever and uncontrolled diabetes for 8 days has traveled all the way from a small town Bhind ( near Gwalior)to Delhi with his parents and with a hope to survive ! But then 80 percent of the hospital has been turned into covid ! We can keep only 20 percent non covid. But there is a chance of him being covid too. I ask for covid testing immediately and in the meantime give instructions to start the treatment. But hold on…The hospital’s licence to test covid has been suspended? , I am informed. (normally we have very quick system to test and get report of covid within one hour)Coz we were reporting too many positive?? Or genuinely infection is on rise.OMG! Is this some joke ?Covid hospital but can’t test covid!So now how do I go about treating him . I am totally confusedShud I risk sending him to another place for admission where testing can happen? Very likely he will die on his way Unless I know the covid status I won’t be able to find proper place ( covid suspect requires different set of precautions and place and sick child require ICU care too)and counsel the parents about his prognosis. If we treat him as covid positive till results are out ( may take a week in outside labs) patients land up in paying lakhs of rupees for adequate protection (PPE , seperate doctor , seperate ward with dedicated nurses). If I keep with covid patients ie different place this innocent child may catch infection from other covid positive patients. Am caught between the Devil and the deep blue sea. We are not only doctors but human first so decided to risk our safety and decided to do everything.Dear doctor friends, the joke is well and truly upon us!A highly efficient hospital like ours that I have always been so proud , but our hands have been tied …..by a weird decree.Govt put up logic of not testing asymptomatic as it creates panic and patients occupying hospitals without need but this cannot be correct as blanket decision. Any patient who require admission ( or high risk contacts )in hospital should be tested for covid . Simple logic behind is the type of bed and isolation is different also some procedures has to be avoided if covid positive even if they are asymptomatic. Also for patients not acquiring beds unnecessarily have triage system. We have worked very hard ( full environment changes and protection of HCW) to make our covid negative patient safe . What we already know ( my 32 year of practice )about any infection is to track , trace , treat or contain but today came to know new way ie mask the reports but let disease be unmasked .( politification of policies and pandemic)Only one line I remember for my country and especially for Delhi I have taken this line as off government seems to be seriously acting on this matter .
Dr Dhiren Gupta, Delhi