Kolkata: M R Bangur finalizes infrastructure push to take in Covid-19 patients

Tamaghna Banerjee & Sumati Yengkhom | TNN | Apr 5, 2020, 06:45 IST

Officials say a core team of doctors is ready and the hospital will be fully prepared by next weekend

KOLKATA: After the Bengal government designated M R Bangur Hospital in Tollygunge as the city's Covid-19 treatment facility, doctors and administrative officials spent the better part of Saturday, finalizing the changes in infrastructure and categorizing admitted patients.

"Around 300 patients are admitted here now. We are diving them in three categories: those who can be discharged in a day or two, those who are almost cured and can now be treated at home and finally, the critically ill who need hospital care. Once we finish the list, we will ask the relatives of the not-so critical patients to take them home. Names of patients who need hospitalization will be forwarded to Sambhunath Pandit and SSKM hospitals for immediate relocation," said a senior MR Bangur official.
The hospital officials, along with health department members, made multiple rounds to finalise the facilities and necessary changes required in infrastructure.
MR Bangur has two buildings: the old one has a capacity of 600 beds and the new super-speciality structure can accommodate 500 patients. Officials said though the total number of beds came to 1,100, the super-speciality wing had only 300 beds ready now. So currently, 900 patients can be accommodated at the moment. "We also have 10 beds in the intensive care unit ready in the super-speciality building and six in the old building. Though there is no Covid-19 patient in the hospital at this moment, a core team of doctors is already prepared. The entire hospital will hopefully be ready by next weekend to function as a Covid-19 facility," said another official.
The process is, however, not without teething problems. While a group of nurses, cleaning staff, canteen workers and security guards staged a demonstration on Friday, protesting against the conversion of the facility, some families approached the medical superintendent, worried if the condition of their ailing relatives would deteriorate while being shifted to another hospital. "My son was admitted here with 60% burns on March 20. Doctors said his condition was still critical. How can they transfer him to another hospital now?" said Sukumar Tandar, a farmer from Birbhum. Doctors pointed out that the burns unit had round 70 patients now. "As most of them are in a critical state, it is a challenge to shift them, given that they are prone to catch infections. We are working on a plan for seamless and safe transfer," said a doctor. Another woman, Soma Mondal, said her father's BP had dropped and so, was admitted three days ago. "They told me to take him home though he is not fit enough to walk by himself," she said.
The health department has categorised the type of patients to be admitted to four healthcare facilities, earmarked for novel coronavirus treatment. M R Bangur will have two categories: those suffering from acute respiratory illness but yet to be tested for Covid-19 and also, positive cases with moderate to severe symptoms. .
Patients who have Covid symptoms but whose samples are yet to be tested and also those who have tested positive but in low-risk category, are to be treated at Chittaranjan National Cancer Institute in New Town. Positive patients with significant morbidity will be at ID Hospital and AMRI, Salt Lake.