Andhra Pradesh to get 149 more COVID-19 hospitals; facilities to be rated

VIJAYAWADA: The state government has decided to increase the number of Covid hospitals from 138 to 287 to deal with the rising number of coronavirus cases. A decision to this effect was taken during a high-level review meeting chaired by Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Friday. Taking stock of the Covid-19 situation in the state, he directed officials to appoint doctors and specialists for the additional 149 Covid hospitals at the earliest, increase the pay of temporary sanitation staff recruited for Covid hospitals and other coronavirus-related programmes, and resolve lapses at hospitals, if any.

Health department officials were asked to rate hospitals based on infrastructure, services provided and overall performance. The Chief Minister said the 287 hospitals must have all required facilities and medical staff. The standards maintained should be regularly monitored, he added. Jagan also stressed that Covid-19 call centres and help desks at hospitals should function efficiently. “Apart from detailed information about treatment and other facilities, Aarogyamitra Help Desks should provide information about the Arogya Aasara scheme and ensure it is implemented effectively.

Help desks should ensure patients get financial aid from the time they get discharged till the rest period advised by doctors ends,” he said. Hygiene must be maintained at hospitals and nutritious food should be provided to patients, he added.Besides this, he said people in home quarantine, and those covered under Aarogyasri should be taken care of well. “They should be given medicines and treatment in time, and the system to clarify doubts of patients and their relatives should function effectively. Services in hospitals should be streamlined in the way we ourselves expect when we go to a hospital for treatment,” he told the officials.

The referral protocol should be followed and implemented at the village and ward clinic level. A call centre to register complaints about Aarogyasri services should be launched and the toll-free number displayed prominently at all hospitals, he added.

CM moots action against unnecessary referrals

Jagan also asked officials to take stern action against those who make unnecessary referrals without first treating patients. Officials should make arrangements to hand over the cash incentive for women when discharging them after delivery, he said. The officials told the Chief Minister that plasma therapy is being provided at Covid hospitals and there have been no negative results so far. They explained that if any service is not available at a hospital, patients are referred to other hospitals. Patients don’t have to go through the admission process again when they are referred to another hospital, they added.

The officials said the Covid- 19 mortality rate in the state is 0.9 per cent, as against 1.9 per cent at the national level, and the recovery rate has risen to 72.29 per cent. As many as 57,58 tests are being conducted per million people in the state, and in Srikakulam district, the figure is as high as 87,754 tests per million. A special survey has been conducted in Anantapur, East Godavari, Krishna and Nellore districts to assess the spread of the coronavirus and the containment measures in place. Of the Covid-19 casualties in the state, 71.66 per cent were male and 28.34 per cent female. Late admission to hospitals was one of the main causes of deaths. Special Chief Secretary KS Jawahar Reddy, health commissioner Katamaneni Bhaskar and other officials were present at the meeting.