A usual day at Gandhi Hospital or Osmania General Hospital, the two major State-run facilities which provide free super speciality services, would see 5,000 to 8,000 patients coming in for out-patient consultations. However, all that changed after the COVID-19 pandemic reached the State.
Pre-COVID, the number of in-patients, on the other hand, always exceeded the sanctioned beds at the two health centres. While OGH has only 1,168 sanctioned beds, 1,800-2,000 patients used to be treated there on any given day. In case of Gandhi Hospital, 2,000-2,200 in-patients could be found as against the sanctioned bed capacity of around 1,100.
These figures are testimony to the high demand for speciality and super speciality services. Since these are government hospitals, admission is not denied to the patients and they are accommodated anyhow, even being laid on floor beds.
The numbers plummeted as the pandemic broke out. However, senior doctors are optimistic that people seeking medical services at the hospitals will touch pre-COVID levels again.
“If the four super speciality hospitals are constructed in and around Hyderabad, the load of patients will come down on the two hospitals. Doctors will be able to allot more time to the patients admitted there,” senior doctors said.
