JOIN USThe government’s decision to utilise the services of private hospitals was dictated by the growing number of H1N1 positive cases. On Friday, 10 fresh swine flu cases were reported, the largest in a single day since June 13 when the first H1N1 positive case was detected.
Six of the patients are below 15 years of age. One of them, a 13-year-old girl, attended a function at Chowdiah Memorial Hall on July 29 when she is suspected to have developed swine flue-like symptoms. Of these, six patients were sent out on home quarantine, five were admitted to Lakeside Medical Centre and Hospital and the rest at Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Chest Diseases (RGICD). The health department said it has despatched 100 Tamiflu tablets to each of the private hospitals.
The private hospitals which will admit suspected H1N1 cases are Manipal, St John’s Hospital, St Martha’s, Vaidehi, Mallya, Mallige Nursing Home, Dr Ambedkar Hospital in Bangalore. The hospitals in Mangalore which have been directed to admit swine flu patients are the Wenlock Hospital, Manipal and the Kasturba Medical College.
In Bangalore, the RGICD, Victoria, and Lakeside Medical Centre and Hospital and in Mangalore the Father Muller Charitable Institutions are screening and admitting H1N1 patients. The decision to utilise the services of private hospitals was taken at a meeting of health department and private hospital officials on Friday.