Hyderabad: The increasing dengue cases have seen private hospitals in Vanasthalipuram forcing the dengue positive patients to opt for transfusion of blood, stating that the condition is very serious. Patients and their families, who are already in trauma, especially those with a lower platelet count, fear that there could be serious complications, a fear being exploited by hospitals.
The family members, who are not aware of medical guidelines, choose to give their consent quickly as they do not want complications for their loved ones.
Those who have to get diagnostics done have to also wait for more than an hour before their blood samples are taken.
The blood reports from most state government diagnostic centres take two to three days for a complete blood profile, and three to four days for dengue serology.
A health worker in the Osmania General Hospital said, “due to time taken in state government diagnostic centres, patients who can afford to, are going to private hospitals for treatment. There have been patients, whose conditions got worse even as they waited for reports and are now admitted in the hospital.”
On Thursday afternoon, 38-year-old Waralakshmi, who was suffering from viral fever, collapsed in a queue at the OGH while waiting for her turn to be diagnosed. Doctors found that she had very high fever besides a high blood pressure. She was immediately rushed to the emergency section and stabilized.
At the Gandhi Hospital, patients are queuing up for tokens from early morning as they have realized the scale of heavy rush in the outpatient department.
Government doctors say that there is an unprecedented rush and points to a very large epidemic. Part of the crisis management plan now is to organise more health camps at basthis and dengue-prone areas, along with health officials of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation, they say.
But most patients are harsh in their appraisal of government’s efforts in pre-empting, managing and responding to the one of the biggest health crisis in the city in a long time – disappointing, and a case of too little, too late.
