Dengue cases: Separate register for NCR patients

Dengue patients hailing from towns in the National Capital Region seeking treatment in Delhi hospitals will be registered separately this year so that they are not clubbed with local patients, Union health ministry informed today

With the monsoon season round the corner, during which there is a spurt in dengue cases, health minister J.P. Nadda said special provisions have been made for patients of NCR towns and their registration will be done in separate columns to get exact reporting of such cases. Mr Nadda also reviewed the dengue situation in the entire country and enquired about various issues including adequate bed strength for patients and diagnostic kits. For Delhi, he also directed his officials to conduct inspections of all government hospitals and review the infrastructure to ensure no stagnant water is found in any of the establishments. “We have made special provisions for Delhi this time. Patients from various towns in the NCR region come to Delhi for treatment. We have started separate registry for them. Such provisions have been created so that they will be treated in Delhi but they will be registered in a different column so that we can get exact reporting of dengue cases,” Mr Nadda said.

The move comes after the practice of registering all patients including those of NCR towns together with those from the city, leading to “inflated” reporting for Delhi. At least 28 cases of dengue have been reported in the national capital with 15 of them in the month of June, according to a municipal report released recently. “Private labs have been issued advisories to cap their testings so that the common man is charged a reasonable amount only,” he said, adding, “Eight advisories have been issued to states since January while three review meetings through video conferencing have taken place.”