Routine health services run despite rising COVID-19 cases
The Hindu
Both government and private hospitals in Chennai are still open for non-COVID-19 patients unlike the previous two waves of the pandemic
Despite the rapid rise in COVID-19 cases in the city, routine healthcare services are running full-fledged in most hospitals. However, patient volume for non-COVID services has dropped marginally at a few places.
Unlike in the previous waves of COVID-19 when non-COVID healthcare services were either suspended or slowed down, all routine healthcare services are continuing as usual in many hospitals — both in the government and private sector.
At Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital (RGGGH), all specialities were in full swing and around 100 to 120 surgeries, including electives, were performed a day, according to dean E. Theranirajan. “Prior to the third wave of COVID-19 infections, our outpatient inflow was around 15,000 to 17,000 a day. Now, we see a maximum of 9,000 to 10,000 outpatients a day. We have around 250 admissions a day,” he said.