New Delhi: All the previous records of heatwave have broken in Indian capital New Delhi as hospitals are filled with patients.
The hospitals in New Delhi have come short of space for patients suffering from heatwave.
Whereas 192 deaths reported from June 11 to June 19.
With a severe heatwave gripping Delhi, the number of deaths linked to heat-related illnesses is increasing in city hospitals. So far, at least 34 such deaths have been reported in the Capital which include both confirmed and suspected cases of heat stroke.
The Delhi government said in the last 48 hours, 310 patients with heat-related illnesses were admitted to its hospitals.
“Out of these, 14 have died,” he said, adding that 27 patients were brought dead to Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital.
“They were mostly homeless people or destitute brought in by passersby. There was a sudden spurt in such cases in the last two days,” he said. “We will confirm the cause of their death after a post-mortem,” the official added.
Hospitals in Delhi, to be sure, have stopped confirming the cause of such deaths by heat-related illnesses and instead, categorised them as “suspected cases of heat-stroke deaths”.
This is after the Delhi government announced it would constitute a three-member panel to conclusively ascertain the exact cause of such deaths at all Delhi hospitals.
The central government-run Safdarjung Hospital had initially declared five deaths by heatstroke. However, it later said only two deaths were due to heat stroke. This change, the hospital said, was because of an alternative diagnosis that came later.
At RML Hospital, 11 heat stroke patients were admitted Wednesday besides 36 patients with fever caused by heat exhaustion. According to a senior doctor at RML, nine deaths are suspected to be caused by heat stroke.
At Lok Nayak Hospital, there have been 66 cases of heat stroke from June 1-18. “On Tuesday, two patients were brought dead (to the hospital) while three were brought dead Wednesday.
The suspected cause of all these deaths are heat-related illnesses,” a senior doctor said. “Many patients are recognising symptoms (of heat wave) late, that’s why several die before reaching the hospital,” the doctor added.
