Covid shadow on surgeries too, 5K cancelled at PGIMS

Ravinder Saini

Tribune News Service

Rohtak, May 25

Patients are at the receiving end of the Covid pandemic as around 5,000 surgeries have been cancelled at the Pt BD Sharma Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences (PGIMS) here during the lockdown to prevent spread of the virus.

All these were elective surgeries and were scheduled for March-end, April and May. Those who can afford to are opting for surgery in private hospitals, but the poor have no choice but to wait for PGIMS to resume surgeries.

Similarly, the wait for orthopaedic surgery at the PGIMS is getting longer for Krishan of Jhajjar’s Badli village. “I suffered a ligament injury in March and am now waiting for restarting of orthopaedic surgery in the PGIMS. I cannot afford surgery in a private hospital, so all I can do is wait.”

A PGIMS officer, who did not wish to be named, said, “On an average 15,384 major and minor surgeries are conducted in PGIMS every month. Of these, over 16 per cent are elective surgeries. A total 1,84,617 minor and major surgeries were carried out in 2019 and the figure was 1,83,478 was in 2018.”

Dr HK Aggarwal, Registrar, University of Health Sciences, said elective surgeries were restricted across the state due to the pandemic, but emergency ones were being conducted as usual. “We have already reopened OPDs in different clinical specialities and super-specialities with some restrictions to check the crowds and ensure social distancing. Surgeries will also be restarted as soon as the state government issues directives in this respect,” he said, adding that all surgeries due in the lockdown period would be rescheduled.