The Saga of Non-COVID Patients in COVID Times: Our Experience in a Secondary Care Hospital in Hilly Terrain, Northern India

Background: The coronavirus disease ۲۰۱۹ (COVID-۱۹) pandemic resulted in the diversion of all the resources, attention, and energy of the medical personnel and administration towards the management of COVID-۱۹ patients. This resulted in unforeseen difficulties and hazards for non-COVID-۱۹ patients in accessing healthcare professionals and facilities.Objectives: The objective of this study was to analyze the impact of the COVID-۱۹ pandemic and repeated lockdowns on the non-COVID patients; to understand the social, psychological, and medical issues faced by them; and propose solutions for difficulties faced by this specific cohort of patients.Methods: We conducted a retrospective observational study on all non-COVID patients reporting for non-COVID-۱۹ illnesses. We conducted the data analysis by comparing the trends for ۱۵ months each in the pre-pandemic (۱ January ۲۰۱۹ to ۳۱ March ۲۰۲۰) and pandemic periods (۱ April ۲۰۲۰ to ۳۰ June ۲۰۲۱).Results: There was a ۶۵.۹۲% decrease in Out Patient Department (OPD) attendance, a ۵۶.۰۵% decrease in admissions, and a ۹۰.۳۳ % decrease in elective surgical procedures in non-COVID-۱۹ patients. However, there was a significant increase in emergency surgeries by ۶۲.۱۶%.Conclusion: There has been a significant albeit much-needed diversion of time, energy, and resources to manage COVID-۱۹ patients in recent times. This has led to a paucity of care opportunities for non-COVID-۱۹ patients, which has been further compounded by the frequent lockdowns. We attempted to understand the impact of the pandemic on non-COVID-۱۹ patients, particularly in peripheral hospitals in Hilly Terrains. We propose the solutions to tackle these issues and describe our experience with them.