Emerging from Covid shadow, PGI bed occupancy rises 28.9%

Naina Mishra

Chandigarh, October 26

The bed occupancy at the Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Education & Research here jumped 28.9% to 84.7% last fiscal 2021-22, against 55.8% in 2020-21, indicating the healthcare facility gradually moved towards normalcy from the impact of Covid-19.

Up due to resumption of regular services

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Occupancy had fallen during Covid-19 as routine admission got hit. Bed occupancy at the start of this year again rose as all routine services resumed with the opening of OPDs. — Dr Vipin Kaushal, Medical Superintendent, PGI

The bed strength also increased to 2,233 in the last fiscal, from 2,210 in 2020-21. The gross death rate (including emergency) declined to 6.7% from 7.5% in the previous year.

Dr Vipin Kaushal, Medical Superintendent, PGI, said: “The occupancy had gone down during Covid-19 as routine admission got affected. The bed occupancy in the beginning of this year again rose as all routine services resumed with the opening of the OPDs.”

Of the total 81,387 admissions in various departments of the PGI, the maximum number (20%) took place in paediatric medicine, followed by cardiology (12.3%), gynaecology (9.3%) and neurosurgery (7.7%).

The highest number of deaths, however, were reported in the Paediatric Medicine Department at 15%, followed by Covid-19 unit (14%), gastroenterology (9.7%) and neurosurgery (8.9%). Besides, around 8% patients who died were heart patients.

Dr Surjit Singh, Head of Advanced Paediatric Centre, PGI, said: “The Department of Paediatric Centre has a maximum strength of 300 beds, which is one of the highest in PGI among other specialties. We are also catering to the maximum number of admissions at the institute. Children who report to us are extremely sick and with severe conditions and hence fatalities are on the higher side.”

Dr Yash Paul Sharma, Head of Advanced Cardiac Centre, PGI, said: “Our centre has been trying to keep fatalities of heart patients low by laying special focus on the patients with cardiogenic shock (condition caused by severe heart attack). Earlier, 8-9 out of 10 patients would die from cardiogenic shock. We have been researching on such patients and made strategic interventions by focussing on which parameter of a patient needs most attention. We monitor sick cardiac patients round the clock and now the mortality of patients with cardiogenic shock has reduced to 2-3 out 10.”

Of the total 2,397 deaths in the PGI Emergency, 10.2% (245) were newborns and 9.6% patients were admitted to the Advanced Paediatric Centre Emergency ward.