KOLKATA: The state government is set to restrict
Covid treatment to two or three government facilities in Kolkata and gradually scale down the number of
beds at its other designated hospitals, which now have an occupancy of just 30%.
The Infectious Diseases and Beliaghata General Hospital and KS Roy TB Hospital in Jad-avpur have been earmarked as the two hospitals that will shoulder the city’s Covid burden even as the rest of government facilities go for a phased withdrawal of Covid treatment. Sources said MR Bangur Hos-pital may also be retained as a Covid unit.
Currently, nine hospitals in the city are designated as government Covid facilities, including three private units that the state government has acquired. Together, they have around 2,410 beds, of which 285 are in the three private hospitals. Close to 1,700 of these beds are now vacant.
Bed occupancy at the nine government units had gone up to 71% in the third week of October from 52% in mid-September. The occupancy remained around 60% even in mid-November but is now down to 30%.
“We have seen a significant dip in the number of Covid patients. If this trend persists, we will gradually scale down the number of Covid beds in the other government facilities and direct all city patients to ID&BG and KS Roy TB Hospital,” said Ajay Chakraborty, director of health services.
Accordingly, the government has scaled up the number of Covid beds in ID&BG, adding 100 beds to the existing pool. A 100 more are in the process of being added. The Beliaghata hospital, which was the first to be designated a government Covid unit after the pandemic began, currently has 215 operational beds.
“The 100 newly added beds include 50 in the HDU. Half of the next lot will be added to the HDU as well,” said Asis Manna, medical superintendent and vice principal at ID&BG. The hospital has also been provided with new equipment like another CT scan machine and an LMO (liquid medical oxygen) tank.
In November, the health department had converted KS Roy TB Hospital in Jadavpur into a full-fledged Covid facility with 130 beds. Currently, construction and electrical wiring are on the verge of completion and work on installing medical gas pipeline is in progress at the hospital which is adjacent to KPC Medical College.
“If all goes well, the Covid beds at KS Roy TB Hospital will become operational in a week or two,” said Somnath Mukherjee, CMOH South 24 Parganas.
Sources indicated the withdrawal of Covid beds will start with the three private hospitals — KPC, AMRI Salt Lake and Desun Hospital — where the number of government Covid beds is already down to 100 from 200. The next in line could be Medical College and Hospital and NRS Medical College, where physical classes for MBBS students have begun.