VIPs lodged in comfortable suites, commoners struggle to find beds

Tribune News Service
Rohtak, April 28

While the stable VIP patients recline on their soft and comfortable beds in high-end hospitals, the not-so-privileged common people, even those in critical condition, are making rounds of hospitals amid the rising number and severity of Covid cases in Rohtak.

With most of the well-known hospitals being jam-packed, even patients suffering from Covid or other diseases are being denied admission for the want of beds with oxygen support and ventilators.

“My brother-in-law, who lives in Delhi, developed complications, even when he tested negative for Covid. He was taken to several hospitals in Delhi, but could not get admission. We brought him to a private hospital in Rohtak around 2 am on Sunday. The hospital staff provided some emergency aid, but expressed their inability to admit him as no ventilator was available. They asked us to take him away. We took him to three other hospitals, but none had any space. Eventually, he died,” said Sanjay Khurana, a local social worker.

Owners and managers of hospitals said the number of cases had increased sharply and it was not possible to accommodate all patients, owing to practical limitations.

“The number of beds is limited and the supply of oxygen is irregular and uncertain. As most of the patients require high oxygen flow, we cannot admit people beyond our capacity,” said a doctor working at a private hospital.

Let alone getting admitted to a hospital, the residents have to wait in long queues even to get their RT-PCR test done if they have any symptoms.

“I took my wife for an RT-PCR test. There were long queues of people awaiting their turn to give samples at the PGIMS as well as private testing centres. We finally succeeded in getting her tested after waiting in two queues — first for the registration and then for giving the samples,” said Ashwani Kumar, a teacher.