NEW DELHI:Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday convened a meeting with the committees which were constituted last month to inspect the 10 hospitals (government and private) in the city with the highest mortality rate, and give hospital-wise recommendations on following standard operating procedures and protocols. In the meeting, each of the four committees submitted their reports and presented recommendations to CM Arvind Kejriwal, to induce measures for the betterment of COVID patient care services and reducing mortality of COVID patients in the hospitals.
CM Arvind Kejriwal reiterated on Wednesday that all steps should be taken to bring deaths to zero. During the inspection by the committees, it was found that the death rate in all these hospitals has decreased as compared to earlier. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is personally monitoring all critical COVID-19 patients. Due to the direct intervention of the Hon'ble Chief Minister, immediate steps have been taken to reduce the rate of deaths in Delhi. On July 16, a checklist was sent by the Health department to the hospitals for Covid patient management which further helped reduce deaths due to Covid. As a result, the deaths in Delhi have come down to just 11 today.
The committees were constituted on July 30 as a part of CM Arvind Kejriwal's efforts to reduce the death rate in the city. Various government and private hospitals such as Lok Nayak Hospital, GTB Hospital, Safdarjung Hospital, Max East & West, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, RML Hospital, Jaipur Golden Hospital, Sir Balaji Action Medical Institute, Escorts, and St. Stephen's Hospital are being inspected by the committees. On the suggestions of the committees post their inspections of the hospitals, measures to contain the ward deaths and provide the best services to the COVID patients in the hospitals will be taken on behalf of the Delhi government.
Following the inspection at various government and private hospitals in Delhi, each of the committees proposed suggestions on reducing the mortality rate in the hospitals. Some of the key suggestions proposed in the meeting were:
GTB Hospital
- COVID wards to be equipped with HFNO/ BiPAP machines for early intervention
- Early recognition and transfer of sick patients to ICU
- Increase use of Convalescent Plasma early in the disease process
Safdarjung Hospital
- Early warning scorecards should be used to ensure prompt detection and shifting of patients from the wards to the critical areas
- High-risk cases should be transferred to ICU/ HDU at the earliest sign of deterioration on the basis of N/L ratio, qSOFA, raised inflammatory markers/ Trop T.
- Number of COVID ICU beds may be increased in case there is a second wave
Lok Nayak Hospital
- Early warning scorecards should be used to ensure prompt detection and shifting of patients from the wards to the critical areas
- High-risk cases should be transferred to ICU/ HDU at the earliest sign of deterioration on the basis of N/L ratio, qSOFA, raised inflammatory markers/Trop T.
Sir Ganga Ram Hospital
- Early detection of complications in patients on prolonged ventilation and management accordingly
Sir Balaji Action Medical Institute and Jaipur Golden Hospital
- The early application of HFNC is desirable and will help in improving patient outcomes.