by Badar Bashir
Srinagar
The early November snowfall has doubled the footfall of patients at the lone tertiary care chest diseases (CD) hospital in Srinagar. The hospital record shows the patient flow has increased from 250 patients (before snowfall) to 350 patients following the week after a snowfall and then to 500 patients a day in the subsequent weeks.
The medical superintendent of CD hospital said the growing number of patients always becomes a challenge as sometimes, the number reaches 1300 patients a day.
In 2018, MS of the hospital said the highest number of patients visiting the hospital reached 1300 a day which is 45 percent more than the average of the winter season. “The status quo seems congruent to last year when on the first week of November, snowfall leads to the sudden growth of patients visit. The increasing quantity of patients is expediting, just in three weeks the numbers have doubled and may cross 1300 patients a day,” he said.
With the recent snowfall, a consultant, wishing anonymity said, the incidence of asthma attacks have increased more. “Patients who were previously in remission of asthma during the preceding months suddenly started inflowing with severe acute asthma attacks, a severe respiratory emergency.”
He also said they have received a number of carbon monoxide poisoning cases, the patients who were exposed to the smoke of charcoal bukharis but fail to create proper ventilation. In severe cases, this can lead to the death of the patients as well.
Meanwhile, the hospital records maintain that the ratio of male patients visiting this hospital is more than female patients. According to an official, 30 percent male patients have diseases caused by smoking.
