Team Herald
PANJIM: Goa Medical College and Hospital Dean Dr Shivanand Bandekar on Monday clarified that the reason for postponing surgery of a 90-year-old woman was due to non-availability of ICU bed for her.
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Reacting to the news items regarding postponement of surgery of a 90-year-old woman in the GMC, Dr Bandekar said that for three consecutive days he tried that the patient undergo the procedure but being older she requires ICU bed post operation. The critical patients and patients having co-morbidity require ICU bed, he said adding that there are 21 beds in the ICU ward and most of the time all these beds are occupied.
“Same patient (Parvati Mandrekar) was at home for five days before being admitted to the GMC. I had put her name on the list for operation but she being 95 years old, the anaesthetist declined to take this case unless ICU bed is available. Her’s is a close fracture unlike open fractures which are emergency and has to be operated expeditiously,” he said.
To a question, Dr Bandekar admitted that many a times patients requiring orthopaedic surgery had to wait for days as priority was given to patients requiring neurosurgery treatment.
“But now I have issued a circular stating that the Neurosurgery Department cannot hold on the operation theatre for more than one hour,” he said adding that in the past the Neurosurgery Department used to hold on the operation theatres for nearly three hours.
There are as many as 15 operation theatres in the GMC and 18-20 major orthopaedic cases are referred to the Department of Orthopaedic. Of these minimum eight patients undergo operation while another eight patients also undergo routine orthopaedic procedures everyday.
“Orthopaedic does not deal only with fracture. They have to do joint replacement, ligament surgery, arthroscopy and spine surgery,” Dr Bandekar further said.
