Bengal: Pvt hospitals, districts told to ramp up COVID treatment infra

With over 91,000 cases of influenza-like illness (ILI) detected during a recent screening programme in West Bengal, an alarmed state government is now scampering to ramp up its COVID-19 treatment infrastructure.

All district medical officer (DMO)s have been asked to ensure that at least one hospital within their jurisdiction is dedicated for the treatment of the deadly infection, while all private hospitals too have been asked to keep isolation beds ready.

So far, 52 private hospitals in the state have been requisitioned for treating COVID-19 patients, while 16 government-run health facilities are being used for the same.

The Calcutta Medical College and Hospital also started functioning as a “full-fledged” COVID-19 hospital from Thursday (May 7) with 500 beds. If needed, the number of beds could be scaled up to 3,000, health department sources said.

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The department, in a separate directive, also asked all private hospitals in Kolkata to set up coronavirus testing laboratories.

At present, there are 17 government and private COVID-19 testing laboratories functioning in the state and one more is awaiting approval from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). The state has 8,570 dedicated COVID-19 beds, with an occupancy rate of 13.27 per cent.

The department felt the need to further augment the infrastructure due to the recent surge in number of people complaining of ILI and respiratory problems, which are also common symptoms of COVID-19.

About 60,000 accredited social health activists (ASHA) had screened over 5.5 crore people by going door to door from April 7 to May 3. During the screening exercise, they found 91,515 people have been suffering from ILI, while 872 others have acute respiratory infection.

Many of them had been admitted to hospitals, while 62 of them tested positive for COVID-19. Already all DMOs have been alerted about the situation with an advisory to keep tab on such patients. They have also been asked to make arrangements for COVID treatment in their respective districts.

“The health department wants COVID hospitals in all districts. Accordingly, we are making arrangements,” said Dr Sushanta Roy, the officer on special duty for the north Bengal districts.

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At least one super specialty hospital in each district will be earmarked for COVID treatment, health department sources said. Special teams are also being formed in the districts for the treatment of the infection.

“Hopefully, by this month, all the districts in north Bengal will have specialised COVID hospitals. Special teams for COVID treatment have been formed,” said Dr Sandip Sengupta of the North Bengal Medical College and Hospital. Other districts are also making similar arrangements.

Another area of concern for the government is the return of its stranded citizens from other states. Already 4,964 people are quarantined in 582 centres across the state, while 9,576 people are in home quarantine, as of May 8. This number is expected to significantly increase once the stranded migrants return.

Another reason cited by the health department for its directive to the private hospitals is that many patients admitted for other diseases are also testing positive for the coronavirus infection in private hospitals.