Chengalpattu: Patients Turned Away, Made To Wait In Ambulance For Over 5 Hrs To Get Hospital Bed

Chengalpattu: Those waiting for treatment in the ambulance had to wait for more than 5 hours and the hospital management should make alternative arrangements and provide proper treatment to the patients who are laying helpless outside the hospitals.

The second wave of coronavirus infection is spreading across India much faster and more rapidly than the first wave. The death toll from the second wave is also recorded higher than the first wave. The spread and speed of viral infection are serious in the country. Despite, various measures taken by central and state governments to stop the rapid transmission of coronavirus, the disease keeps on scaring people.

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In Chengalpattu, patients are suffering without beds. Waiting in an ambulance for more than 5 hours is additional pain to bear for COVID patients.

Particularly in the last few weeks, the coronavirus infection has been spreading rapidly across Tamil Nadu. There have been shocking incidents as patients are reported to be suffering without bed and dying without oxygen.

Chengalpattu is the second most affected district in Tamil Nadu after Chennai. Up to 2,500 people are infected with the virus in a single day.

2,419 new positive cases reported just yesterday. The number of COVID cases so far in the district has risen to 1 lakh 20 thousand 40.

Due to the preoccupation of all oxygen-equipped beds at Chengalpattu government hospital; patients seeking treatment are waiting for long hours without bed in the ambulance, under the trees, and at the entrance of the hospital.

Chengalpattu Government Hospital has a total of 480 beds, it has 325 beds with an oxygen facility. The remaining 155 beds are normal in condition. All 325 beds with oxygen facility were occupied at the hospital at 10 pm a day before yesterday. This made the patients who came from different parts of Chengalpattu district wait outside the hospital.

Patients with severe breathing difficulties are being put at the entrance of the hospital and under the trees. Those who arrived in the ambulance for treatment yesterday afternoon are said to have been denied admission and turned away due to the unavailability of beds.

This has forced the patients to wait in the ambulance for more than 5 hours. The hospital management must make alternative arrangements and provide proper treatment to the helpless patients lying outside the hospital.

Following the incident where 13 patients allegedly died due to lack of oxygen a few days ago, people demand that no such incident should take place further. There is no staff to attend to the patients coming in the ambulance.

Every second is important in terms of treatment, but here patients are kept on wait for hours citing lack of bed. The government is being urged to put an end to this tragedy that continues to persist.