Ahmedabad: Covid care to stop at IKDRC, GCRI

GANDHINAGAR: In a significant move, the state government has decided to close down two additional Covid-19 facilities at the Institute of Kidney Diseases and Research Centre and Gujarat Cancer Research Institute located at the Ahmedabad Civil Hospital campus.
The decision follows a significant drop in admissions in the 1,200-bed designated Covid Hospital in the Civil Hospital, which currently has only 247 patients admitted despite having one of the biggest medical facilities of 176 ventilators and over 500 beds with oxygen availability.
Plus, there was also an insistent demand to free up super-speciality kidney and cancer hospitals for treating critically-ill non-Covid patients needing advanced nephrological and cancer care.
The decision to bring all Covid patients under the roof of the 1,200-bed Covid Hospital was taken on Tuesday night, top sources said. Currently, the 1,200-bed dedicated Covid hospital will operate fully even as there are discussions to reduce the number of beds if significant control in Covid-19 cases in Ahmedabad city is achieved.
Jayprakash Shivhare, commissioner, health & family welfare, said, "As the requirement for Covid-19 beds has reduced due to significant drop in new cases, the state government decided to close the Covid treatment facilities at GCRI and IKDRC. The hospitals had spared 262 and 202 Covid-care beds respectively," said Shivhare.
Top sources said that the burden of Covid patients on the Civil Hospital went down substantially after the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) engaged all major private hospitals of the city for Covid care under the free-of-charge treatment model. A random survey found that small groups of over 25 and 35 patients were admitted in GCRI and IKDRC hospitals respectively even as the 1,200 bed Covid hospital was filled at only 20% capacity.
"The patients will be shifted to the designated Covid hospital from Thursday. This will allow us to treat kidney and cancer patients whose care was compromised. More kidney and cancer patients will be forthcoming for availing medical services if the hospital is turned non-Covid," said a senior official.
The official said the facilities at IKDRC and GCRI are not being dismantled and can be readied in a few hours in case there is a spike in cases in the city. The Samras hostel Covid care centre has also been shut down.