Hyderabad: Starting April this year, several hospitals in the city received many calls from family members of patients who have suffered “strokes” and are struggling for survival. These family members seek medical advice over the telephone instead of taking the victims to a nearby medical facility or hospital. It is feared that many of these patients succumb to not receiving timely medical attention.
According to the information available nationally and globally, there is a significant drop in the number of cases getting reported for stroke with neurology departments of prominent public and private hospitals. And this situation arose from the fear of contracting ‘coronavirus’ if one visits a hospital or any other medical facility.
Commenting on the emerging situation, Dr Kailas Mirche, Associate Consultant Neurologist, Continental Hospitals said, “We cater to the medical needs of our regular patients using remote and digital means. But, prescribing medicine to a new patient or to someone who has likely suffered a massive stroke without physically assessing the conditions could be dangerous. We avoid doing that. We request the family members of the victim to shift the patient to a nearby medical facility/hospital on an emergency basis to ensure the life of the patient is saved. Administering blood thinner injection within four and half hours of the patient suffering stroke will ensure the patient can be revived and saved, which in fact will reduce both morbidity and mortality as well. Unfortunately, there is a sharp dip in the number of cases getting registered from strokes at hospitals. And this is a dangerous scenario that is emerging.”
“It is important that patients suffering from serious health conditions like stroke or cardiac arrests are brought to the hospital without losing much time to ensure s/he can be saved. While COVID-19 is a serious problem, ignoring timely medical attention could result in immediate deaths,” added Dr Rahul Medakkar, CEO, Continental Hospitals.
The situation in our society needs urgent awareness of the high morbidity and the risk of mortality in non-communicable or non-corona related diseases. It is important that people understand the risks in avoiding timely healthcare support to ensure lives are saved in emergencies.