Pune: Vacant Covid-19 beds set to be freed for general care

PUNE: Vacant Covid-19 hospital beds will soon be made available for general patients, officials from the Pune Municipal Corporation have said.
The civic body had set aside nearly 4,500 beds from private and government hospitals to deal with the pandemic. But patient count over the past few days has been steadily dropping, which means resources can now be freed for people who need non-Covid care.
According to data released by the PMC, nearly 50% of the beds that were reserved are currently vacant. These include critical-care units as well.

A senior PMC official said, “The total number of Covid patients in hospitals is now far less than what it was soon after the Ganapati festival. There was a surge in the number of positive cases at the time. But for nearly a fortnight now, recoveries have been steadily overtaking the number of new cases which in turn has reduced the demand for hospital beds. Demand for hospital beds has also been low because of the home isolation policy. The official said these beds can be reserved again if the city registers fresh Covid spikes.
Medical experts said freeing hospital beds for general care will be a good move.
“It will let hospitals complete planned surgeries. These vacant beds can be released from Covid duty in phases,” said Sanjay Patil, chairman of the Hospital Board of India, Pune branch.
Patil said the decision will benefit scores who need procedures such as eye surgeries and cardiac care.
“Many had postponed surgeries due to the pandemic. The number of patients coming in for planned surgeries will go up further after Diwali,” he said.
Even during the lockdown, doctors had warned against postponing surgical procedures. Delayed elective surgeries, they said, could turn into emergency procedures later. Such escalations impact chances of survival and apply strain on personal finances and the healthcare system.
For example, surgeries for functional improvement such as joint replacement procedures may not affect survival, but their delay can, in some instances, lead to deterioration in quality of life.