Doon Hospital told to set up isolation ward

Dehradun, February 17

In the wake of a spurt in the number of suspected swine flu cases in the state, the Directorate General, Health and Family Welfare, has directed the Doon Hospital to set up a ventilator-equipped isolation ward for critically ill patients. The hospital has only four ventilators, out of which one would now be used for the isolation ward. “In case of emergency, we will make arrangements with private hospitals for procuring more ventilators,” said Dr GS Joshi, DG, Health.

The department has been facing sharp criticism for its failure to keep a stock of medicines to treat H1N1 cases. The state has been procuring medicines privately. “We have made arrangements for procuring Tamiflu tablets for Dehradun, Haldwani and Haridwar by asking Nainital and other districts to chip in from their available stocks. Chief medical officers of the districts have been asked to procure the tablets privatelym,” said the DG.

As many as 75 suspected cases of H1N1 have been reported in the state. The reports of 42 cases have been received and 11 of them have tested positive for the virus. So far, two deaths have occurred in the state. One patient hailed from Haridwar while the other who died yesterday hailed from Vikas Nagar. All samples from Uttarakhand are being sent to New Delhi for confirmation.