City Hospitals Choked, Kids Worst Victims

40% spike in emergency cases as air quality remains in most hazardous category for 4th consecutive day.

- Nayanika Singhal And Chayyanika Nigam

Dr. Sandeep Nayar had an awfully busy day on Friday. “This air pollution is killing. The number of patients struggling to breathe has shot up by 30-40 per cent. Children are worst hit because they are more vulnerable to infections. Also, they cannot wear masks for long,” said the Respiratory Medicine HoD at BLK Super Speciality Hospital.

Nayar was only one of the many doctors who reported such an alarming surge in emergency admissions as a toxic smog cover kept Delhi’s air quality in the most hazardous category for the fourth consecutive day.

A research by the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) and the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) also found a 3040 per cent increase in the number of emergency admissions of those hit hard by Delhi’s air pollution crisis.

A Mail Today reality check found multiple hospitals, both private and government, scrambling to look after an unending stream of gasping patients. Doctors said they were fast running out of Intensive Care Unit (ICU) beds.

“Despite protective masks, patients are still facing breathing distress. Such high levels of pollution are very new to us. Without exaggeration, I can say that there has been a 40 per cent spike in pollution-related respiratory cases in Delhi,” said a health department official.

Casualty wards, OPDs, and paediatric clinics also witnessed a spike in cases of cough, sore throat, breathing difficulty and wheezing. Anxious relatives prayed that pollution levels come down, while anti-pollution masks sold like hotcakes.