Bhilai, Oct 08: Be it catering to the rising influx of patients including employees and their dependants in Flu clinic, hearing our their symptoms and conducting different types of Covid tests, taking patients from Casualty, Respiratory speciality Ward 1 and 2, or Medicine Ward 1 and 2, to the special wards created for treating Covid patients, maintaining requisite inventory of medicines, consumables, PPE kits, supplying need-based food to renal, diabetic or other patients, compiling and monitoring data related to reports and vital parameters of Covid patients, or collecting samples and X-rays from the specific wards itself, the medical & health services teams of SAIL-Bhilai Steel Plant’s JLN Hospital and RC are providing valuable and persistent service to patients.
Among the initial measures taken to provide treatment and immediate support to active patients and minimize impact of infection was setting up of a Flu Clinic at JLN Hospital & RC where employees/dependents having symptoms could get themselves checked. The Flu clinic that started functioning in JLN Hospital and RC since March 24, 2020 has had a footfall of 5258 persons so far.
As per directives of district health administration, suspected patients were to be sent to District Hospital for testing. COVID Testing is now also being done at JLN Hospital. Rapid Action test is being done in JLN Hospital now while sample for RTPCR is also being taken. The Health centre at Sector-06 has been developed into a Covid Testing centre and here TruNat tests are being done. As on October 04, 2020, 2246 Rapid antigen tests, 571 RTPCR tests and 143 Tru Nat tests with a total of 2960 samples collected have so far been done. Besides, 1663 Tru Nat tests have so far been done at Health centre, Sector-06.
While an isolation ward had been earmarked in JLN Hospital for COVID-suspect patients from the early days of the pandemic, with rising number of COVID positive cases, the district administration gave permission to SAIL-BSP to set up a special ward for such patients. Two special wards were then set up for asymptomatic and mild symptomatic cases of employees and their dependents with 55 bed capacity. Patients in this ward are kept under daily observation of doctors and para-medical staff. Continuous oxygen supply is provided in the two special COVID wards.
As on October 06, 2020, as many as 433 employees have been advised Home isolation and 93 employees have been referred to other hospitals. A team of doctors exclusively monitors the health of patients and clear doubts of patients under home isolation or those who have been referred to other hospitals. When unable to contact the patient directly, these doctors call the doctors of Referral hospitals or their PR team for enquiring about the health of BSP patients admitted there.
Besides those referred to other hospitals by BSP and those advised home isolation, there have been several cases of employees getting themselves admitted directly in private hospitals. For such patients, BSP management has worked out a provision for paying their hospital bills up to a sum of Rs 5 lakh as a special measure.
Continuous oxygen supply is provided to the two special COVID wards. Reports of samples collected are given to the patients in the ward itself. Data collection and conveying it to proper forums is another herculean task, as this is monitored by both Bhilai Steel Plant and the government health department agencies.
Necessary PPE Kit and consumables like mask, gloves, sanitizers, etc are made available in hospital for use in all wards and units. All doctors and paramedical staff and cleaning staff are given basic training and provided all sorts of protections while handling the patients in their area.
All these activities are being carried out under the leadership of Dr SK Issar, Director I/c (M&HS) and his team. Daily meetings are held at the level of HoD of JLN Hospital & RC, wherein information is shared and discussions are held on the issues faced by patients, nurses and doctors and they are resolved as soon as possible. While regular VCs are held wherein the M & HS leadership apprises and updates the top management about daily progress and status of COVID situation, Dr SK Issar, Director I/c (M & HS) and Dr Pramod Binayake, Jt Dir (M & HS) have also addressed large group interactions on the subject of COVID.
Out-Patient flow and in-patient admissions other than COVID continues
While JLN Hospital and RC is dealing with the Covid pandemic, it also is dealing with a sizeable number of in-patient (IPD) and out-patient (OPD) patients. During the April to Sept period of current fiscal year 2020-21, as many as 8824 IPD patients have been admitted in the hospital compared to 19,302 patients admitted in corresponding period of previous fiscal year 2019-20. This included 5079 admissions from Medicine unit, 559 from Surgery unit, 555 from Neonatal unit etc.
During the April to Sept period of current fiscal year 2020-21, as many as 2,07,604 persons have visited the OPD at JLN Hospital and RC as compared to a total of 3,66,119 cases in corresponding period of previous fiscal year 2019-20. The majority of 19,966 patients visited the General OPD, 43,755 patients visited Medicine OPD, 23,143 patients visited Ortho OPD while 5159 patients consulted in the Gastro-entero OPD.
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