Non-Covid admissions surge in Kolkata hospitals as footfall dips sharply

KOLKATA: Non-Covid admissions have started crawling up across Kolkata’s private hospitals that have seen a significant drop in Covid admissions over the last five days. The plunge has been between 30%-50% a day on an average at most hospitals, which, the hospital authorities pointed out, is consistent with the slide in the total number of affected in the state and the city.
This has not only made hospitals reverse their earlier plan of extending Covid units but they are also reconverting Covid beds into non-Covid ones.At some hospitals, non-Covid admissions have doubled over the last week.
The AMRI Hospitals have converted 35 Covid beds into non-Covid ones across its three units and is ready to convert more depending on the demand for non-Covid treatment, said CEO Rupak Barua. Occupancy, however, remains high at its Covid critical care units that have 120 beds. “Our non-Covid patients have shot up from 250 last week to around 350 now. Covid admissions, on the other hand, are dropping by 10%-15% everyday,” said Barua.
At RN Tagore International Institute of Cardiac Sciences (RTIICS), Covid admissions have dropped from around eight per day 10 days ago to around four a day for the last three days. “There has been an increase in non-Covid admissions by 25% over the last week. While the number of admitted Covid patients remain constant at 95 for the last one week, positivity rate has plummeted to 20%,” said zonal head R Venkatesh.
At Woodlands Hospital, Covid admissions have significantly declined over the last few days while non-Covid admissions have more than doubled.
"While a week ago, the average Covid daily occupancy was 54, in the last four days, the figure has dropped to 42. Last Monday, around 30% of our total occupancy comprised non-Covid patients, while this Monday, the figure hasgone up to 70%," said MD & CEO Rupali Basu.
At Belle Vue Clinic, the number of non-critical Covid beds is down to 28 from 80.
"We have started using these beds for non-Covid treatment, which is now on a revival path, along with our OPD. Surgeries, too, have gone up while the number of RT-PCR tests has dropped sharply," said CEO P Tondon.
At Charnock Hospital, Covid admissions have dipped by 30%.
"This has led to a rise in non-Covid admissions which have now reached 40% of our capacity. We expect it to double over the next two weeks," said Charnock mamaging director Prashant Sharma.
At Peerless Hospital, the total number of Covid patients has dropped from 81 on January 16 to 62 on January 23, while the number of non-Covid patients has swelled from 133 to 205 durin this period.