For pregnant Covid patient, Mohali dist hospital sets up special facility

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, July 19

Last week, Sunita, a Covid-positive pregnant woman, was in labour pains when she was turned away by two hospitals, including a private medical college. Losing all hope, the 28-year-old arrived at the District Hospital, Mohali, which rose to the occasion and created a special isolation wing for her delivery within hours.

Thus, the hospital, known as a ‘VIP cradle’ and for ‘lacking enthusiasm for work’, became one of the few in the state to have successfully handled the delivery of a Covid patient. When a large number of tertiary care hospitals, including ‘premier institutes’, have refused treatment to patients, the Mohali hospital has offered OPD services to 1 lakh patients between March 15 and July 15.

Manoj, a resident of Chandigarh’s Sector 43, who works as a washerman, was in the hospital on Saturday for the delivery of his wife. “We were not attended to by doctors at government hospitals in Chandigarh, so we came here,” he said.

“Our services remain open 24×7 and even on holidays and Sundays. During the pandemic, around 1,500 deliveries were conducted at the hospital, including 522 C-section and 215 high-risk cases,” said Dr Areet Kaur, Senior Medical Officer and incharge of the hospital. The hospital has conducted 137 major surgeries, including 88 laparoscopic surgeries, 10 knee replacements, a hip replacement and 38 cataract surgeries during this period.