OPD and non-COVID services resume partially at GTB, LNJP

New Delhi: Guru Tegh Bahadur Hospital will restart OPD services of major specialties on a limited basis with effect from today, as per a circular that the Government of NCT of Delhi had issued to GTB Hospital this Tuesday.

This is in compliance with a December 31 order from the Department of Health and Family Welfare regarding the de-escalation of beds reserved for COVID-19 patients from 1,500 (full capacity) to 500 in GTB Hospital to resume non-COVID-19 patient care in a phased manner.

Accordingly, limited out-patient services of major specialities (Surgery, Medicine, Orthopedics, Gynecology and Pediatrics) will be started from Thursday onwards.

Lok Nayak Jai Prakash (LNJP) Hospital also resumed OPD services from Monday, although emergency and in-patient services have not been started yet. Hospital staff said that 50 patients per clinical specialty are allowed in one day, with a pass that can be made either online a day before or manually on the same day at the registration counter.

All patients undergo Rapid Antigen Testing before and only those who test negative are allowed to enter. Each department (specialty) has 4 chambers for OPD services, a doctor at the hospital said. At both hospitals, seating and other arrangements will follow proper social distancing and sanitization.

Except for pediatrics and orthopedics, attendants will not be allowed with patients. Masks will be provided to those patients who come without one. There will be a separate medicine counter on each floor and drugs will be dispensed for one month. Since emergency services have not yet resumed, emergency cases will be transferred to referral hospitals such as GB Pant or Aruna Asif Ali hospital.

In case of a severe or extreme case requiring urgent minor surgical intervention, a local operation theatre in the OPD building will be kept on standby, a circular issued by LNJP hospital said. For non-surgical cases, a 4-bedded emergency room will be kept on standby where a patient can be stabilised before being transferred to another hospital.

As far as medical investigations are concerned, a small collection centre for blood reports is placed in the OPD block and X-ray services are also available.

Hospital staff will be divided such that one-third of the staff will look after OPD services. This will include PG and MBBS students, who had been making repeated appeals to resume non-COVID services to continue their training at both teaching hospitals.

Millennium Post had first reported on December 18 that the GTB Hospital had been greenlit by the Delhi government to resume non-Covid services, following such complaints from the resident doctors at these hospitals.