1,000 more beds for dengue patients in city govt hospitals

With a deluge of dengue cases in the capital, the Delhi government has decided on Sunday to purchase 1,000 additional beds to accommodate patients suffering from vector-borne disease in its hospitals.

Sources said there are some hospitals where two patients have been lying on a single bed. Delhi Health Minister Satyendra Jain on Sunday asked officials to take preventive steps to curb dengue.

“We are trying hard to curb the spread of dengue in the city. To check the increasing number of dengue cases, the government has decided to purchase 1,000 more beds within next three to four days. If there is space constraints in hospitals the additional beds can be kept in lobbies or other places which don’t hinder smooth movement of patients,” Jain said.

The move comes after a couple committed suicide whose seven-year-old son died of dengue after being denied admission by two private hospitals a week ago.

Both the parents jumped off a four-storeyed building in south Delhi’s Lado Sarai area.
Jain also directed municipal corporations to check breeding of mosquitoes in residential areas as well as official buildings.

Sources said the Delhi health department has issued strict directions to SDMs, DMs and tehsildars to keep a close watch on cases of dengue in their respective wards.
The health minister added that if possible hospitals have been suggested to postpone surgeries in order to make beds available for patients suffering from dengue.

“If not urgent, hospitals have been suggested to postpone surgeries for a month with an aim to make beds available to accommodate dengue patients. Treating dengue patients is our first priority,” the minister added.

Officials with the Delhi health department alleged that municipal corporations have been slack in checking the breeding of mosquitoes.

“The department gets many complaints about MCD officials not visiting their homes for fogging. The government has decided to take stringent action against those found guilty of negligence,” he added.

Even the health minister reiterated that curtailing the spread of dengue has become the city government’s first  priority.