This story is from July 27, 2020

Rapid antigen tests in Vid set to burden city med infra

Rapid antigen tests in Vid set to burden city med infra
Nagpur: Almost all districts in Vidarbha will be conducting rapid antigen tests in large numbers in coming week starting from Monday. While it’s good move as it will increase number of tests significantly in rural Vidarbha, health facilities in Nagpur are set to face a major burden of referred patients in next two-three weeks.
In rapid antigen tests, elderly, ailing or those who have chronic illnesses, and those who have some symptoms of Covid-19 are tested on priority apart from those in close contacts of already positive patients.
This is set to identify high number of Covid-19 patients as well as many others with serious non-Covid illnesses. It’s very common practice in Vidarbha to refer serious patients (both Covid and non-Covid) to Nagpur.
At present, 97 Covid-19 patients referred from other districts and neighbouring states are undergoing treatment in Nagpur’s GMCH and IGGMCH. Patients from neighbouring states like Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Telangana also get referred to Nagpur as the city has emerged as a medical hub over the years.
With more patients getting diagnosed through rapid antigen tests, more will be referred to Nagpur. This will obviously increase the burden on health infrastructure and workforce in Nagpur, which is already working under pressure.
“Covid or non-Covid, all serious patients are referred to Nagpur from across Vidarbha and MP. In case of Covid-19 patients, those having severe co-morbid conditions and moderate-to-serious level of infections are referred to city so that their co-morbidities could be treated,” said Dr Mohd Faizal, nodal officer of Covid Hospital at GMCH.
“Out of total 82 deaths in Nagpur, 20 are of those patients who were referred from other districts and states,” said Dr Sagar Pande, nodal officer of Covid Hospital in IGGMCH where 10 patients referred from other districts died during treatment, while 16 more are under treatment. Some of them are serious and in ICU. Both government hospitals in the city are bound to admit and treat Covid-19 patients irrespective of their place of residence. Moreover, being tertiary clinics, these hospitals are final treatment option to many critical non-Covid patients too.

Districts like Yavatmal, Buldhana, Washim, Amravati, Gondia, and Bhandara have decided to test elderly people having ailments like fever, pneumonia, cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Yavatmal will be conducting 300 rapid tests daily. Buldhana is already conducting 200 rapid tests a day, Akola and Amravati even more.
Real task is ahead...
Covid as well as serious non-Covid patients are referred to Nagpur from all parts of Vidarbha and adjoining states
In next two-three weeks, a large number of rapid tests will be conducted in rural Vidarbha
As facilities are limited in rural areas, serious patients will be referred to Nagpur
Burden will increase on Nagpur’s health care facilities and already exhausted medical workforce
More ICU beds, ventilators must remain vacant to tackle projected surge in referred patients
For this, CCCs for mild asymptomatic patients, and home isolation for totally asymptomatic must begin
author
About the Author
Chaitanya Deshpande

Chaitanya Deshpande is Principal Correspondent at The Times of India, Nagpur. He has a PG degree in English literature and Mass communication. Chaitanya covers public health, medical issues, medical education, research in the fields of medicine, microbiology, biotechnology. He also covers culture, fine arts, theatre, folk arts, literature, and life. Proficient in Marathi and Hindi along with English, Chaitanya loves music, theatre and literature of all three languages.

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