Covid-19: Teams to conduct physical inspection of beds in private hospitals

Directions to ensure efficient treatments are being issued to cope with a sharp rise in cases, as the second wave alone added more than 100,000 new Covid-19 cases in April and May

The district health department on Wednesday constituted 10 teams of doctors, including members from the Indian Medical Association (IMA), to audit bed capacity in private hospitals, almost a month after the hospitals submitted details about the total number of beds that can be reserved for Covid-19 patients during an anticipated third wave.

Demand for oxygen and beds soared in April and May, when Covid-19 cases peaked in Gurugram. (PTI)

“The committees have been constituted for performing physical verification of hospital beds in private hospitals. Each team will comprise two doctors, including a representative from the health department and IMA, who will visit about 38 big hospitals in the city. About 10 teams will visit three to four hospitals each and submit their reports by August 20,” said Dr Virender Yadav, chief medical officer of Gurugram.

Even as the health department has been reporting a constant decline in new cases of coronavirus infection over the past two months, private hospitals were directed to augment bed capacity for children and infants in June. At least 76 hospitals were directed to increase the bed capacity by 10% to treat neonatal, infants and young children.

Officials said that the move is aimed at ensuring efficient treatment to patients. On Tuesday, private hospitals were directed to constitute a committee to monitor oxygen requirement, usage and wastage for every bed. The directions are being issued to cope with a sharp rise in cases, as the second wave alone added more than 100,000 new cases in April and May.

With the festival season around the corner, which can lead to an increase in cases, the health department is in the process of ensuring timely bed availability and oxygen supply to patients.

Based on the details submitted by hospitals, the district has 686 paediatric beds supported with oxygen supply, at least 172 paediatric intensive care unit (ICU) beds with ventilators, and 391 paediatric ICU beds without ventilators. For adults, over 3,837 beds have been reserved, of which 2,817 are equipped with oxygen support, 759 are ICU beds and 261 are equipped with ventilators.

Since there has been a decline in the new Covid-19 cases, only six critically ill patients of the 74 active cases from Gurugram are undergoing treatment at hospitals. On Wednesday, the district reported four new Covid-19 cases and zero deaths. The death toll stands at 921 and the total case count at 180,958.