News
Hospitals adopt new defensive rules in second virus wave
With the second outbreak of COVID-19 producing mortalities among a number of asymptomatic patients who have died at home or on admission to hospital, the Health Ministry has tightened health protocols.
All hospitals on the advice of the Health Ministry have asked patients to avoid visiting hospitals except in case of emergency, and medication is being posted out to patients’ homes in many cases.
The Health Ministry website allows patients to register to have their drugs posted to them at home. Patients are required to give their personal details including name, identity card number, and clinic name and number.
Patients asking for clinic appointments have been asked to dial hotline 9390. Those with respiratory illness and asthmatic conditions will be treated immediately.
Postmaster-General Ranjith Ariyaratne said more than 84,000 packages of medicines had been delivered from hospitals to patients in the 12 days to November 11, with another 82,954 Osusala packages being delivered in the same period.
Most of the posted drugs went to homes in the Gampaha district, Kalutara and Colombo North, with Gampaha alone receiving around 50,000 packages up to last Friday.
To avoid overcrowding, only accident victims and patients with severe illnesses will be treated at hospital Outpatients Departments (OPD).
Initially, all OPD patients will be kept in a triage area where they are screened for the virus: temperatures and medical history are checked and patients are also questioned about their travel and contact history.
Patients with suspect signs undergo a PCR test. Patients with respiratory illness immediately undergo the test for COVID-19. Only one person may accompany a patient to a clinic.
At the Apeksha Hospital in Maharagama, where three COVID-19 positive cases, including a leukaemia patient who was identified posthumously, were identified, only patients needing chemotherapy are being admitted.
Medication is being posted out. The hospital posts about 100 packages of medication a day.
“A relative can come to the clinic and collect medication for the patient,” Hospital Director Dr. Wasantha Dissanayake said.
Rural patients needing chemotherapy are being directed to the closest hospitals to have their drug administered, with the medication being dispensed by the Apeksha Hospital. The hospital has not postponed any scheduled surgeries.
The Lady Ridgeway Children’s Hospital is also posting drugs to patients’ homes but says that in other respects its wards are functioning normally.
The Trincomalee General Hospital said although services are functioning patients are reluctant to walk into the hospital for fear of catching the virus. This follows news that a young heart patient who died suddenly had tested positive for COVID-19.