Health Minister Dr Manouk Mandaviya on Monday said that the Union Government has issued guidelines to the States and Union Territories to ensure that hospitals have adequate facilities to treat heat-related ailments.
With extreme heat conditions in northern and central parts of India, doctors are seeing at least a 50% increase in patients complaining of heat wave-related ailments such as fever, diarrhoea, cramps and dizziness. He said the elderly, children and people with pre-existing complications are at higher risk and are being advised to stay indoors.
This comes in the backdrop of the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) warning that heatwave conditions will continue over north and central India for the next two days.
The rising temperature in Delhi is a matter of concern. We are seeing an increase of at least 40-50% patients in OPDs suffering from heat-related ailments. Due to the scorching sun, many children are getting fever and they are complaining of dizziness and nausea. Over the past week, we’ve seen 25-30 patients suffering from heat stroke symptoms that we don’t see every year. His relatives are also complaining about this. Patients with heat stroke symptoms include sweating, headache, diarrhoea, fever, vomiting. We recommend drinking plenty of water and keeping yourself hydrated,” says Dr Gaurav Jain, Senior Consultant, Internal Medicine, Dharamshila Narayan Superspeciality Hospital.
Dr Satish Kaul, Director, Internal Medicine, Fortis Memorial Research Institute, Gurugram, said: “At present at least 30-40% of OPDs are seeing heat-related illnesses, especially young school going children and the elderly. is.”
The IMD said on Monday that heat wave conditions persist over most parts of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Delhi, Haryana, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh.
Dr. Atul Gogia, Senior Consultant, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital said that the cases of diarrhea have increased significantly this year. “More than half of the cases in OPDs are of diarrhea which is a major heat-related disorder. We advise people to stay indoors till the temperature subsides as predicted by the IMD in the next few days.”
Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan has directed the States and UTs to ensure that hospitals have access to essential medicines, fluids, ORS, ice packs and round the clock water and electricity to deal with patients coming from heat-related ailments. supply.
“The state health department should continue efforts for sensitization and capacity building of medical officers, health workers, grassroots workers on heat illness, its early detection and management. The preparedness of health facilities should be reviewed for the availability of adequate quantities of essential medicines, IV fluids, ice packs, ORS and all necessary equipment. Availability of adequate drinking water in all health facilities and continuous functioning of cooling equipment in critical areas must be ensured,” Bhushan said in a letter to the states.