After Victoria, two private hospitals see most Covid-19 deaths

After the state-run Victoria Hospital, two private healthcare facilities account for most Covid-19-related fatalities in the city, a hospital-wise break-up of the 1,022 coronavirus deaths reported until July 31 shows.

While Victoria Hospital has seen 123 Covid-19 deaths so far, St John's and MS Ramaiah hospitals have reported 99 and 81 deaths, respectively. Victoria Hospital's Trauma and Emergency Care Centre is the first and the largest public Covid-19 facility in the city. St John's hospital authorities said 50% of the ICU patients passed away owing to co-morbidities and age-related complications. Ramaiah hospital said all the patients that the BBMP had referred to it were either severely ill or moderately affected by Covid-19-19.

Dr George A D'Souza, Dean, St John's Medical College, told DH: "If you look at the number of critical cases admitted by St John's. then the numbers show that the mortality is 30%-50% of the patients admitted in the ICU. This is the percentage the world over. Senior citizens and patients with uncontrolled diabetes, blood pressure and heart disease account for the most fatalities."

Some patients, said D'Souza, came in too late while a few came in between 24 and 48 hours before death. "A couple of them died because our ICUs were full and they could not get an ICU bed elsewhere. We had to manage with whatever facilities were available at John's," he added. In all, St John's hospital has 33 ICU beds and 200 beds for Covid-19.

Ramaiah hospital is currently treating 317 Covid-19 patients. Dr Naresh Shetty, president, MS Ramaiah Memorial Hospital, said: "One should look at the total number of beds and the percentage of critical patients treated by the hospital, and then compare the number of deaths. No other facility takes the patient load that we do. We are seeing cases of happy hypoxia. Covid-19 is not an explained disease. No one knows." In happy hypoxia, a person’s oxygen saturation level is low but they still seem well until they collapse and die.

Bowring and Lady Curzon Hospital saw 75 deaths and the Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Chest Diseases 62 deaths.

Dr Manoj Kumar, in-charge dean, Bowring hospital, said: "Out of these deaths, at least 24 patients were treated for less than a day at our hospital. The duration between the first symptoms and the hospitalisation was more than five days in 19 of the patients who died. Patients were referred to us after they developed complications. We don't refuse admission even when patients come from other hospitals."