DHANGADHI: Seti Hospital in Sudurpaschim Province has refused to admit five COVID-19 patients owing to the lack of beds in the isolation ward.

The 24-bed isolation ward of the hospital is full and there is no place to keep the newly infected.

The hospital sent back five infected persons aged 19-32 years from Kalika Secondary School quarantine facility in Gauriganga Municipality, informed Mayor Bhim Bahadur Deuba.

Among the five patients, health condition of two is deteriorating, added Mayor Deuba. “They are suffering from severe cases of fever, cough and vomiting but were still sent back.”

Currently, they are housed at the hall of a temple in ward-6 of the municipality, he added.

We sent the patients to Seti Hospital following the guidelines disseminated by the Ministry of Health and Population, but with this refusal, there is confusion regarding the management of coronavirus patients.

However, according to Dr Hemraj Pandey, medical superintendent of Seti Hospital, the hospital has already admitted 25 patients in the 24-bed capacity isolation ward and cannot safely manage further patients with the current infrastructure. As the process of adding equipment in the building handed over by District Health Office, Kailali is still ongoing, it is not possible to house patients there, Dr Pandey added.

Ministry of Social Development in the province claimed that coronavirus control committees formed in districts held the responsibility for management of the infected, not the ministry.