Hospitals in Chandigarh creak as patients pile up

CHANDIGARH: The surge in cases has overwhelmed all Covid care centres and hospitals, leaving the city with a hostel in Panjab University (PU) and the Sector 48 hospital for admitting patients.


As many as 45-60 patients are testing positive for the virus daily on an average, forcing doctors to encourage home quarantine.

Half of them require admission in the Covid hospital at PGI, while others are shifted to Covid care centres like Dhanwantry Ayurvedic College and Hospital, Sector 46, and Sood Dharamshala, Sector 22.

“The centres are full. Most of our healthcare workers are also getting infected. We are going to change the admission guidelines. Only emergency patients will be admitted, as with more admissions, there is a risk to non-Covid patients as well,” said Prof B S Chavan, director-principal, Government Medical College and Hospital, Sector 32.

Panjab University’s hostel number 10 was started as post-discharge facility for Covid care. As many as 60 patients have stayed at hostel. “The hostel has a capacity of

150. We might get full soon, but we are also discharging patients. There is a surge throughout the country and we expect the same here,” said an official in the health department.

The PGI has 112 patients in the Covid hospital, while all 50 beds in Dhanwantry are occupied. Sood Dharamshala has 175 beds. The GMCH has 69 Covid patients and the Sector 48 hospital has 37 patients. There are 100 beds in the Sector 48 hospital, while PGI has

200. “We have all ICU beds occupied and no extra ventilator is available. Our communicable disease ward is also 100% occupied,” said a doctor in PGI.