Thread by @doctorsaheba

Delhi Govt claims it has great Public Healthcare Delivery system. Here is an incident that will present the real picture which is not so pleasant. A young 25 years old man from Nagaland who is preparing for UPSC in Delhi gets Fever and Rashes over body. I listen to the case and..

Suspect that it could be Dengue. The boy had just taken some meds for fever from a chemist shop with no relief. I ask his family to take him to the nearby GTB Hospital which is the largest Govt Hospital in Trans Yamuna Region of Delhi. Its around 8 PM when they visit hosp..

Firstly, the guard at the Hospital door has no clue where Casualty is and misdirects them. I wonder what if this was a case where every minute counted - like cardiac arrest. They reach casualty and are told to first get a paper before doctor can see. Paper before patient!!

All casualty are supposed to first check and triage the patient and not delay it for Paper work. I was shocked to know this happened. Then the patient is seen by someone. He is a medical intern. No Registered Doctor saw the patient in casualty though there is stamp of someone.

The patient is examined for only BP and Pulse. And treatment started symptomatically. I try to speak to this intern and request him to get some investigations done as it's Dengue Suspect case. He tells me it's not dengue because there is no Abdominal pain and Retro-orbital pain..

I am at my wits' end. I didn't know that these two symptoms are sure ways to rule out dengue when patient is presenting with Rash / possibly hemorrhage. He then says there is no System in casualty to advise investigation. There is no form here. Whoa! So a casualty with no tests.

I was shocked to see this is the system in one of the largest Govt Teaching Hospitals. I request this intern to get me to speak to some senior. He says there is no one around. So, a Casualty managed independently by an intern? Then he says test can be done in Medical Emergency...

But they will not see the patient. I tell him to refer the patient there and I will speak. The patient goes there. The Doctor on duty at Med Emergency refuses to speak on phone to me despite being told that I am a Doctor and a Faculty. Also, she doesn't see the patient. Then they

Approach another doctor who speaks on phone hesitatingly. She says that the duty has changed and she just joined duty at 9 PM and doesn't know anything about this patient who came before 9. She hangs the phone. And doesn't see the patient. I am clueless.

I find out the Name of CMO on Duty and speak with him. He is understanding and courteous. We finally receive help. He gets CBC done for the patient but says the report will come after 3-4 hours. I don't understand why so much time. The relatives bring the patient back home.

Now next day, distraught by this experience at Govt Hospital, the family takes him to a Private Hospital where he is seen and finally advised the necessary blood tests.

As I was suspecting all along, the young guy is Dengue Positive. More problematically his counts are low. And his platelets dropped to 85,000. He already had hemorrhagic rash on body. I advise them to get him admitted for evaluation, monitoring and supportive treatment

Delhi Govt which boasts of its Health delivery and Hospitals needs to see this. A person with Dengue and low platelets would have been sent off with just paracetamol with no tests even. This guy was fortunate that I was guiding him. But what about others? Isn't this Negligence?

I request Delhi Govt to focus back on people of #Delhi during this #Dengue Outbreak (and not on Gujarat elections) @AAPDelhi @CMODelhi @ArvindKejriwal @msisodia @DelhiDfw @nvbdcpmohfw @NCDCgov @ICMRDELHI @MCD_Delhi @LtGovDelhi