West Bengal govt asks all dedicated Covid-19 hospitals to set up quick response teams

“Proper and effective proactive intervention at the right time can decrease the mortality rate to a great extent,” stated a circular, issued by the state government to set up quick response teams in all the 78 dedicated Covid-19 hospitals.

West Bengal government has directed all 78 dedicated coronavirus disease (Covid-19) hospitals in the state to set up their Quick Response Teams (QRTs), which would only attend to critically-ill patients in a bid to bring down the mortality rate from the raging viral infection.

West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee had said that Covid-19 related toll would have been lower in the state, had the private hospitals not neglected critically-ill patients with comorbid conditions. (ANI)

The state government has been drawing flak from various quarters for its high mortality rate, which was initially recorded at 12.8%.Bengal’s Covid-19 related fatality count has dipped to 3.8% but still higher than the national average of 3.1%. Gujarat and Maharashtra at 5.9% and 4.7%, respectively, have higher mortality rates than Bengal.

“Proper and effective proactive intervention at the right time can decrease the mortality rate to a great extent,” stated a circular, issued by the state government to set up QRTs in all the 78 dedicated Covid-19 hospitals.

Each QRT would have an anaesthetist, a medical officer, a post-graduate trainee, a house staff and a critical care unit (CCU) trained nurse, who would function round the clock, said a state government health official.

A few hospitals have already set up QRTs.On Wednesday, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had said that Covid-19 related toll would have been lower in the state, had the private hospitals not neglected critically-ill patients with comorbid conditions.

Bengal has reported 591 Covid-19 related deaths till Wednesday, of which 437, or over 73%, had comorbid conditions such as hypertension, diabetes, a heart condition, and kidney ailments, among others.

The Covid-19 related mortality rate is 5.3% in Kolkata and its adjoining districts such North 24 Parganas, South 24 Parganas and Howrah. While in Kolkata alone, the fatality count is even higher at 6.9%.

In May, the visiting inter-ministerial central team (IMCT) had flagged the high mortality rate in Bengal, which was the highest in the country at that time at 12.8%, laying bare low testing, poor surveillance, and contact tracing.