No curb on outside Covid patients seeking care in Cuttack, Bhubaneswar, Odisha govt clarifies

BHUBANESWAR: A day after the state health department asked the district administrations to ‘dissuade’ patients from coming to Cuttack and Bhubaneswar for Covid treatment, the government on Wednesday clarified there would be no restriction on the patients’ movement to the twin cities.
“The government is not banning movement of patients to Cuttack-Bhubaneswar.It's regulating to ensure that they travel safe and with proper medical advice and logistics,” chief secretary Asit Tripathy tweeted.

“Covid patients travelling …on advice of health authorities must do so under proper medical management and equipment/oxygen support. Carelessness in the past has led to serious consequences. Govt has created advanced Covid facilities in twin cities for the entire state,” he said.
Additional chief secretary (health) Pradipta Kumar Mohapatra, who had issued the Tuesday order, said, “There are certain complaints regarding the order on critical care of patients. Our chief secretary has already clarified. There is no restriction on patients from other parts from seeking care in Cuttack and Bhubaneswar.”
Mohapatra said the government's focus is on strengthening the critical care services ensuring that patients don’t suffer in transit. In routine manner, districts should not blindly refer patients without proper preparation. There are examples of patients dying on the way. The guidelines are meant to address that.
Stating that Cuttack and Bhubaneswar have best facilities and people from the entire state have rights to avail care in the two cities, Mohapatra said, “I would like to once again clarify that there is no ban or restriction on patients from other districts coming from here. The district administrations must ensure enough care for the transit while sending patient,” he said.
“As there is risk to the patient during transportation, it has been advised that only cases that require referral and are stable enough to undertake the journey safely should be transferred,” he said.
As reported earlier, the health department’s Tuesday order had said, “The Covid patients requiring critical care should be first managed in the ICU /HDU (high dependency unit) of all districts instead of being referred to Bhubaneswar or Cuttack in a routine manner…Patients insisting on being referred to Bhubaneswar or Cuttack should be counselled and dissuaded.” The government move had invited sharp criticism from various quarters.