Nalanda hospital resumes treatment of non-Covid patients after 2 months

PATNA: After remaining a dedicated 500-bed Covid facility for two months during the second wave of Covid pandemic, the Nalanda Medical College and Hospital (NMCH) on Thursday resumed its usual healthcare services by reopening OPDs of all its departments.
Altogether 161 patients turned up for consultation in different departments, including 25 each in medicine, orthopaedic and physiotherapy departments, 21 in gynaecology department 14 in eye department on Thursday.
NMCH medical superintendent Dr Binod Kumar Singh said as the principal secretary of health department had given permission for resumption of OPD services only on Wednesday, most patients of adjoining localities were unaware of it. “The number of patients may increase in a few days. All other services like admission of non-Covid patients and surgeries will also be resumed,” he said.
The number of Covid patients at NMCH has dropped to 35 and all these patients have been shifted to mother and child health (MCH) building, which has a capacity to accommodate 94 patients. The Junior Doctors’ Association of NMCH had also demanded resumption of non-Covid treatment at the hospital.
Five mucormycosis or black fungus patients are also undergoing treatment at the ENT department of the hospital.
Meanwhile, the NMCH administration has decided to expedite the much-awaited project of setting up an eye bank which remained affected due to the surge in Covid cases.
“We have requested the director in chief of health department to appoint ophthalmic assistants at the hospital to collect cornea from the donors. A separate eye building is ready and the required equipment have also been installed,” Dr Binod said.
Dr Rajesh Tiwari, head of eye department, said the eye bank, being set up by the state government, would have modern facilities. “The quality of cornea collected from donors will be tested before transplantation,” he added.
Dr Tiwari said the hospital would appoint counsellors from among the postgraduate students for motivating the kin of terminally ill patients or those declared as brain dead.
“The cornea must be removed within four hours of the death of a person who had registered for donation of eyes. The hospital will have two separate lists of registered donors and recipients,” he added.