The State government has reiterated its instruction to private hospitals to report COVID-19 deaths within an hour of occurrence. Though this is an existing guideline, the Health Department has, under the Clinical Establishments Act, directed private hospitals to strictly adhere to the norm on “immediate reporting” of deaths, after noticing delays on this front.
“We have issued strict instructions to private hospitals to report COVID-19 [deaths] within an hour. Already, as per the Government of India guidelines, private hospitals have to report deaths due to COVID-19 on the portal immediately. They will have to upload the case sheet, and we will analyse the cause of death. This is to ensure that deaths are reported early,” a health official said.
Already, a rapid response team comprising a microbiologist and doctors from the fields of general medicine and social and preventive medicine has been analysing the deaths in medical college hospitals. “We have made prompt reporting of deaths stringent under the Clinical Establishments Act. This is to prevent delayed reporting of deaths. There were instances of private hospitals reporting deaths after three or five days of occurrence,” the official said.
The hospitals upload the relevant details on the COVID-19 portal and also fill a form provided by the department.
“A three-member team, comprising the joint directors of medical services, non-communicable diseases and Clinical Establishments Act, are involved in the process. They will analyse the deaths and look at factors including co-morbidities of the deceased,” the official added.
The Directorate of Public Health and Preventive Medicine had already constituted a committee to reconcile COVID-19 death reports of the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC). The need for this arose after the number of deaths in the GCC burial ground figures did not match with the deaths officially announced by the government, officials said.
“Deaths that occurred in private hospitals from the end of March to the first week of April may still go unreported as the guidelines and parameters for reporting COVID-19 deaths were brought in much later. However, the Health Department has asked private hospitals to submit all death records from their medical records section since the start of the lockdown in March,” a source said.
