Kolkata private hospitals to follow Covid-like protocol for dengue, malaria – ET HealthWorld

Kolkata: Private hospitals in Kolkata have been asked to inform the state health department about the status of their dengue and malaria patients on a daily basis by uploading the data on the health and family welfare website, similar to what they had been doing for Covid patients.

At a virtual meeting – conducted by health secretary Narayan Swarup Nigam – the representatives of private hospitals were also asked to ‘regulate, rationalize and restrict out-of-pocket’ expenses of patients on dengue tests and treatment.

All private diagnostic laboratories, including those at private hospitals, have been asked to ‘regulate pricing to a reasonable limit’ else the government will intervene. The meeting was also attended by director of health services Sidhhartha Niyogi and director of medical education Debashis Bhattacharyya. Cases of dengue and malaria could persist through the festive period in October and continue till early-November, Niyogi reminded hospitals.

“From about 200 daily fresh cases of dengue in September beginning we are now getting close to 600 cases. The rise in count is alarming. Hence increase testing, streamlining treatment protocol apart from speeding up vector control measures are must to counter the problem,” said a senior health official.

The director of health services said that apart from Kolkata, North 24 Parganas, Howrah, Hooghly, Murshidabad, South 24 Parganas and Darjeeling are also reporting spurt in cases.

“Since a large number has already been affected, we will try and see if the rates can be slashed, even if the reduction is marginal,” said AMRI Hospitals CEO Rupak Barua, who is also the president of the Association of Hospitals of Eastern India (AHEI).

Private hospitals, as laid down by the state health officials, must ensure that the standard protocol for treatment is strictly followed. Nigam pointed out to hospital representatives that there have been reports of non-compliance of protocols.

“While the government has not capped the price of tests or specified any amount, it has hinted that charges should not be raised. This has been done for the benefit of patients who need to undergo tests now and we will abide by it,” said Peerless Hospital CEO Sudipta Mitra.

All symptomatic cases are to be tested for dengue and malaria through confirmatory tests like Elisa and NS 1, it was instructed. “It is important to stick to the government direction of following the treatment protocol. We have received many patients who were initially treated with antibiotics by local doctors that worsened their condition. Health officials have pointed out that patients’ condition should not worsen due to faulty treatment or wrong protocol. We will stick to it,” said Barua.

He added that the number of dengue patients was galloping every week and the situation is alarming.

The government, on the other hand, is planning to look into capacity building of private clinical establishments in the districts. The latter in Kolkata can seek support from Swasthya Bhavan, if necessary, the health officials said.