Most Covid cases can be treated at home but 30 % beds in Lucknow occupied by VIPs with mild symptoms

Thirty per cent of the patients who have occupied level-3 beds in hospitals in Lucknow across the city are those with mild to moderate Covid symptoms. These patients are either VVIPs or their kin.

A senior doctor at a Covid facility said on condition of anonymity for obvious reasons that these so-called VIP patients have made the situation worse for serious patients. “We appeal to such people to leave the beds for those in need. We also want to urge the administration that if guidelines have been made, they should be implemented in a transparent manner. Disaster times have a rule that the benefits should reach the maximum number of people and not small number of people,” the doctor, who is in-charge of prominent Covid centre in Lucknow, said.

Recently a video went viral where Bhojpuri folksinger Niruha aka Dinesh Lal Yadav was seen entering in a  jovial mood in SGPGI when he was tested covid positive. He was admitted in the hospital on the recommendation of higher ups. Niruha has joined BJP and had even contested election against Akhilesh Yadav in Azamgarh during 2019 elections.

The doctor pointed out that there are people dying outside hospitals waiting for oxygen support. “This is because they have been waiting for two or more days with such a high demand for oxygen. If these patients with severe infection are not treated in time, they will die,” he said.

He said 80 per cent of the patients even in this situation can be treated at home. “Even the patients who are having moderate disease and whose oxygen requirement is low can be treated on level-2 beds. There is no need for him to take a bed in L 3 hospital,” he said.

“Oxygen saturation level depends on so many factors like patient’s age as oxygen levels de-saturate faster in old age people, children and pregnant women. Besides, oxygen will also de-saturate faster as compared to normal person in those having cardio-respiratory problems. We do not look into these factors. Patients said that their oxygen saturation level is 90 but how fast it falls will depend on the baseline age, lung and heart diseases and how extensive the Covid pneumonia is, which the common man does not know. People have to understand one thing that if they are having problem in breathing, they should get worried and take opinion from doctor because just putting the oxygen mask is not enough,” he said.

He said doctors can only say how much oxygen is required by looking into the clinical condition of patients, their CT scan and respiratory rate. “Only fever, body ache, headache and bad throat is mild category. If the age is above 45 years and there are problems of hypertension, , such patients are in high-risk category. Those who have mild symptoms without any breathing difficulty can be safely treated at home with monitoring,” he said.

He added that if there is a breathing difficulty, it means patients are moving towards the moderate category and for that what is essential is to know the opinion of the doctors who can decide whether it is clinically mild or moderate. “The difference can be gauged between a person having a one-day fever or another having a seven-day fever,” he said “However, if the demand for oxygen increases, one needs to get admitted to a hospital because it can affect the body and requires invasive oxygen as against non-invasive oxygen,” he added.