Covid-19: lack of beds started taking toll in Nagpur

Nagpur: The high claims of District Administration’s Covid facilities and Oxygen beds are just appear on piece of paper as patients are forced to wait for getting a bed in both government and private hospitals as the cases of novel Corona Virus (Covid-19) are rapidly increasing in the city.

The Covid-19 positive cases are on a surge since August in Nagpur with each day average 1000 new cases and 40 patients are succumbing to the virus borne disease.

While Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) authorities claiming to have prepared beds for the Covid-19 patients, the kin often found themselves waiting for a bed in the hospital. While many patients cope with it, some succumb to the struggle!!

In one such traumatic experience, Advocate Amit R. Prasad shared his horrendous ordeal that, he had undergone through and how his mother has to wait to get a bed before she breath last due to critical situation of Covid-19 in Nagpur.

Amit’s mother suffered with brain stroke on September 5, 2020. Immediately, he rushed her to a private hospital. Later on, she was diagnosed with Acute Leukemia (blood cancer) and she was also detected Covid-19 positive on the very next day. As the private hospital, was a non-Covid hospital, the doctors urged me to take discharge and to admit my her in a Covid hospital, designated by NMC.

“It is when my nightmare began,” Amit says.

“I peered all the Covid private hospitals of Nagpur city and Nagpur rural to admit my mother, but I did not get an ICU bed for my mother, as all the ICU beds of the private hospitals were occupied,” he recalls.

“I was ready to pay the hefty admission charges of the private hospitals for treatment of my mother and used my all influential contacts to get an ICU bed for my mother, but all in vain. I also contacted Dr. Vijay Joshi, the Corona incharge of NMC to get an ICU bed, but since all the ICU beds in Nagpur were fully occupied, he also could not help me in this regard. Even my doctor friend who is a senior surgeon, searched and tried to get an ICU bed for my mother, but still, I did not get any ICU bed in any private hospital,” Amit lamented.

“My mother was lying in Ambulance with oxygen supply for more than 5 hours and her condition was critical, the oxygen cylinder was about to be emptied, and myself and my elder brother were trying to get an ICU bed for my mother in a private hospital, but did not succeed,” he said.

“Lastly, since I did not get an ICU bed for my mother in a private hospital, at around 11.00 p.m., I took my mother to Mayo Hospital and there also, all ICU beds were occupied. Even patients were coming from Government Medical College, Nagpur to Mayo Hospital to get an ICU bed, as all the beds of Government Medical College, Nagpur were also occupied. Lastly, the doctors at the Mayo Hospital, considering the critical condition of my mother, made available an ICU bed, by shifting one patient to another ward. Unfortunately, on September 8, 2020 my left for heavenly abode,” said Amit.