Doctors, nurse show flu symptoms in Orissa, sent home

Two doctors and a nurse of SCB Medical College and Hospital were granted a week’s leave on Thursday after they showed swine flu
symptoms. Hospital authorities sent them home after collecting samples for swab test.

SCB casualty officer BN Moharana said throat and nasal swabs of the two doctors and nurse have been sent to Kolkata for tests. “The doctors from pulmonary and radiology departments and the nurse were treating swine flu patients,” added the officer. All of them, Moharana said, have undergone anti-viral treatment as a precautionary measure.

As the news spread, panic gripped the state’s premier hospital. The out-patient department (OPD) wore a thin look. The location of the isolation ward near the casualty wing on the first floor must have prompted them to stay away. At present, two H1N1 positive patients are being treated at the hospital.

On an average, the hospital gets 2,000 patients a day. While emergency patients first report to the casualty wing, others are directed to outdoor units of different departments for check-up.

“The casualty ward is always crowded since critical patients are always accompanied by attendants. That the isolation ward is close to the isolation ward must have raised people’s fear,” said Piyush Sahoo, a patient.

Pramod Mohanty, a businessman, added, “I didn’t want to take any risk. The moment I came to know about the development, I took my brother to a private hospital.”

Doctors at the hospital admitted that flow of patients to outdoor units dropped drastically during the day. “Apart from some poor people, who cannot afford treatment in private hospitals, a few critical patients turned up,” said a doctor.

“There’s nothing to panic. Emergency patients are coming to the hospital,” Maharana added.

Hospital authorities are under pressure to shift the isolation ward to a place away from the general ward. But nothing has been done so far.

“No matter how loudly you say there isn’t much to worry about, it’s not easy to shed the fear factor. The hospital authorities must act accordingly,” said Sashi Bhushan Das.