A man bathes with water leaking from a pipeline at Nizamuddin area on a hot summer day, in New Delhi on Wednesday | PTI
Heatwave kills 5 in Delhi hospital, many critical
Delhi health minister directs hospitals to increase beds for heatstroke patients as cases rise in the national capital
Hospitals in Delhi are witnessing a spike in heatstroke cases and casualties as a brutal heatwave continues to batter the national capital, PTI has reported
At the Centre-run RML Hospital, authorities received 22 patients in the last two days. There have been five deaths and 12 to 13 patients are on ventilator support.
"The victims did not have any co-morbidities. When such people come to the hospital, their core body temperature is recorded and, if it is found more than 105 degrees Fahrenheit and there is no other cause, they are declared as heatstroke patients. Those who succumb to heatstroke are declared as 'suspected heatstroke'. There is a committee of the Delhi government that later confirms the deaths," a senior hospital official said.
To ensure immediate cooling of the body, the hospital has set up a first-of-its-kind heatstroke unit.
"The unit has cooling technology and the patients are kept in baths filled with ice and water. When their body temperature goes below 102 degrees Fahrenheit, they are monitored. If they are stable, they are shifted into the ward. Otherwise, they are put on a ventilator. Most of the patients who are admitted are labourers," the official added.
At the Safdarjung Hospital, there have been a total of 60 heatstroke cases, including 42 who have been admitted. The hospital has reported six casualties, including a 60-year-old woman and a 50-year-old man who died on Tuesday.
According to LNJP Hospital authorities, four patients have died due to suspected heatstroke in the last two days. "There were two deaths on Tuesday due to suspected heatstroke and two casualties on Wednesday. There are 16 heatstroke patients admitted," said a hospital official.
One of the victims, aged around 39, died during treatment on June 15. He was a motor mechanic who collapsed while working at his shop in Janakpuri. He was brought in with high-grade fever.
Speaking on heatstroke symptoms, a senior hospital official said patients sometimes collapse due to dehydration.
They also suffer from very high fever, which causes the body temperature to reach 106 to 107 degrees Fahrenheit, he added.
(With Agency inputs)
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