The demand to permit South Central Railway (SCR) to make use of its Central Hospital at Lallaguda as a COVID-19 care centre for current and retired railway employees and their families is growing louder by the day.
After Union Minister of State for Home G. Kishan Reddy requested Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao to give permission and BJP leaders like K. Laxman following suit, TS Deputy Speaker T. Padma Rao has appealed to Health Minister Eatala Rajender to consider the request made by General Manager Gajanan Mallya.
There are at least five railway personnel, including a health official, admitted in various hospitals including Gandhi for COVID treatment. The railway hospital did not admit them pending government nod.
With continuous running of passenger and limited passenger trains, there is fear among officials and staff about the mounting number of cases daily in the twin cities. Mr. Rao, also Secunderabad MLA, has several railway employees in his constituency.
Incidentally, AP government had now allowed admission of COVID-19 ‘mild’ patients to the divisional railway hospital at Guntakal, after permitting the Vijaywada railway health facility to admit the same to make use of the 30 general isolation beds and 10 beds equipped with ICU facilities, senior officials, pleading anonymity, informed.
The GM wrote to the government 10 days ago seeking permission for Central Hospital to admit patients after an officer got admitted to a private hospital for a ‘hefty package’ after the railway hospital refused admission, claiming it was yet to get requisite permission.
This coupled with the nerve-racking experience of the official concerned in waiting for close to seven hours to get himself admitted to Gandhi Hospital spooked the railway officials and staff ever since. Workers’ union and employees’ associations wrote to Mr. Mallya seeking opening up of the railway hospital.
SCR had claimed in April itself that its five major hospitals and 44 health units in TS and AP were ready with 862 isolation beds to treat COVID patients.