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Once mired in controversy, Gian Sagar medical college now becomes refuge for corona patients
51 patients are undergoing treatment at the private hospital, notified as isolation and treatment centre by state govt
The Gian Sagar Medical College and Hospital, Banur, which was shut down in 2017 following controversy over financial mismanagement and started again last year with a changed management, has now become a refuge for Covid-19 patients.
As many as 51 patients are undergoing treatment at this private hospital, which has been notified as an isolation and treatment facility by the state government after coronavirus outbreak. The number of patients in the hospital is higher than those in all the three government medical college and hospitals in the state.
Gian Sagar medical superintendent Col SPS Goraya (retd) said a total of 61 patients were shifted here from Mohali, the worst-affected district in the state, Fatehgarh Sahib and Rupnagar.
Of these eight were cured of the disease while two others died.
He said the hospital had offered to the Punjab government that it was prepared to make available isolation wards to quarantine suspected coronavirus patients.
Later, the Punjab health and family welfare department notified the entire Gian Sagar Medical College and Hospital as an isolation facility even as it was decided that the hospital would continue to function normally as it had enough beds to quarantine suspected coronavirus patients.
The hospital has made available 300 beds exclusively for coronavirus patients.
“As of now, the hospital has 20 ventilators, but we can manage 100 ventilators if the government provides us more ventilators,” said Col Goraya.
The hospital management last week signed a memorandum of understanding with the Punjab Health Systems Corporation wherein it was agreed that the hospital would make available 500 beds for Covid-19 patients, if the need arose, he added.
Punjab health minister Balbir Sidhu said Gian Sagar was chosen as isolation and treatment centre, as it is was on the outskirts of the town and is fully equipped.
The medical college, which was earlier run by the family of Pearl group chairman Nirmal Singh Bhangu, had run into rough weather due to financial mismanagement and shut down in 2017. The state government had then shifted its students to the government-run medical colleges in the state. However, it was started with a changed management last year due to personal efforts of chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh.
