NIZAMABAD: Institutional deliveries have come down at government hospitals in Nizamabad district, as the hospitals are more crowded and stretched now due to the pandemic.
Every month, about 2,200 deliveries would usually be carried out in the district, of which about 50 per cent would be at government hospitals.
However, in April, the percentage has come down to 28 per cent in government institutions, with the rest being carried out at private hospitals. All Primary Health Centres (PHC) have also been converted to Covid hospitals.
Medical staff at the PHCs have advised pregnant women to opt for deliveries at other government hospitals. However, due to shortage of beds at the alternative hospitals, the women are opting for private ones. A staff from a PHC said cases coming to Armoor Hospital were being allotted to Balkonda Hospital, but the latter had only 30 beds, and so pregnant women were opting for private hospitals over Armoor. Private hospitals too haven’t exactly been a bed of roses for the women.
Sometimes, most staff and lab technicians of such hospitals are engaged in Covid duties, and cannot pay enough attention to non-Covid patients. The 108 services are also mostly catering to transportation of Covid patients, leaving other patietns, including pregnant women, without any transportation. In addition to this, these hospitals are also getting many patients, and due to the crowding, some women have tested positive for Covid-19 after deliveries. District Immunization Officer Dr B Shiva Shankar said Covid cases were now decreasing, and the government had decided to provide vaccines to pregnant women.