AHMEDABAD: With daily Covid-19 cases nosediving, both government and private
hospitals have made plans to reduce the dedicated beds in phase-wise manner. Sources said that in Ahmedabad, the number of total beds could be around 1,500.
As of Sunday evening, there were 95 Covid-19 patients in all private hospitals in Ahmedabad and overall 350-odd patients.
“The number of non-requisitioned beds available in private hospitals was 2,645 at the end of January. The number is now 2,330. With only 4% of the beds occupied, other beds could be used for accommodating patients of other diseases,” said a senior member of Ahmedabad Hospitals and Nursing Homes Association (AHNA). “A formal representation will soon be made to the authorities to allow hospitals to decide whether they wish to admit Covid-19 patients and number of beds they wish to earmark.”
At Civil Hospital –
Gujarat’s biggest single-campus Covid-19 treatment centre – the authorities said that the 1200-bed hospital will soon go back to admitting women and children patients for surgical and non-surgical procedures. “The dedicated Covid-19 wards will remain functional, but part of the building will now be used for other patients,” said an official.
Experts pointed out that surge like post-Diwali period is not witnessed in past couple of months. “But we may never know when we will require the ramped-up facility. While converting the wards back to non-Covid will surely help other patients, the hospitals and administration must be ready for any contingency,” said a city-based pulmonologist.