Srinagar, June 7: Amidst the most ravaging phase of the pandemic, COVID19 patient outcomes have differed widely at various hospitals in Kashmir the previous month, reflecting the availability of facilities and quality of care at these institutes.
Official data sourced from four medical college hospitals in Kashmir reveals that in the month of May, SKIMS Soura had the lowest patient mortality of admitted patients. Being the Level 3 institute where the most critical and severely sick patients were admitted, this Hospital saw the highest number of admissions in May. As per the data, the Hospital admitted 876 patients from 01 May till 05 June. Of these, 94 people lost their lives. The percentage of deaths among total admissions at this hospital, as per the available data is 10.7, reflecting the best of outcomes. In other words, out of every 10 people admitted to SKIMS Soura in the past month, 9 survived while 1succumbed to the virus.
At SKIMS, 20 ICU beds have been designated for COVID19. J&K Government’s bulletin on COVID19 states that none of the ICU beds is vacant currently.
At SMHS Hospital, 740 patients were admitted during this period. Of these, 121 lost life at the hospital. The percentage of admitted patients that die at this hospital, official data states, is 16.3 percent. In addition, 25 people have also been declared brought dead at this hospital during this month. Currently, with 211
patients undergoing treatment at the hospital, SMHS has the highest load of patients. It has 300 dedicated beds and 12 ICU beds. None of the ICU beds is vacant.
Among the medical college hospitals designated for COVID19, Government Medical College Anantnag has the highest mortality in patients. As per data, 863 patients have so far been admitted in the isolation ward, 384 admitted in May. In May, 78 patient deaths were recorded at the hospital – 20.3 percent mortality. Compared to tertiary care hospitals in Srinagar SKIMS and SMHS Hospital, where the admissions have been higher and more critical patients are being treated, GMC Anantnag’s mortality is disproportionately high. Currently, the hospital has 120 COVID19 beds as per J&K Government. Of these, 52 have patients admitted. The Hospital, as per the official media bulletin of the UT Government, has no ICU bed and no patient admitted on critical care.
Since 01 March, when the case load of patients was the highest and referrals were strongly discouraged by Government, 530 patients were provided treatment at this medical college, the lowest among all GMCs of Kashmir. No month-wise data was available for GMC Baramulla. Since 01 March, 68 people admitted at this medical college have lost life, as per official data. The mortality at GMC Baramulla is nearly 13 percent. The Medical College has two COVID19 Care Centers under it since the second wave hit Kashmir. Currently, 86 patients are admitted at this GMC, of which one is on ventilator support.
Financial Commissioner Health and Medical Education, Atal Dulloo said all the designated COVID19 hospitals had been fully equipped with oxygen support. He said oxygen capacity had been increased in the past month at the hospitals where the requirement had increased. “The referral system would continue to be same as the medical colleges are now fully functional to cater to patient needs,” he said. He further said that the Government was in the process of recruiting manpower for further improvement of healthcare delivery.