NAGPUR: Amid shortage of beds hampering Covid treatment, a massive facility set up nearly six months ago remains unutilized. At the Pachpaoli Covid care centre, Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) has set up an 86-bed walk-in oxygen facility, which is yet to be inaugurated.
The idea was to administer oxygen to patients with low saturation levels till they could get a hospital bed. The other way round, patients only needing oxygen could also be taken out of the hospital and kept at the centre for rest of the days. This could have led to faster availability of beds.
The centre is aimed to give the stop-gap facility to patients so that their condition does not worsen due to lack of oxygen. The idea was mooted by then municipal commissioner Tukaram Mundhe. The facility could not get operational for want of staff.
Today, 86 brand new beds ready with oxygen dispenser fixed to each one of them are gathering dust. Currently, only Covid testing and quarantine facilities continue at Pachpaoli.
Sources said it would need a staff of at least 40, including doctors and paramedics. The teams will have to be led by physicians followed by junior doctors to carry forward there instructions, said a source. “The decision on administering the quantity of oxygen has to be taken by a physician. The quantity depends on the level of saturation in the patents for which only a physician can take the right call,” said a source aware of the issue.
The centre may need 6-8 doctors to be deployed on shift basis. The rest would be paramedic staff.
Lately, staff has been approved from the railways which has not reported yet. However, the doctors do not include any physician. Rather, the doctors allotted to the centre are specialists in faculties like orthopaedics or ENT. A physician is the right person to take a decision on the level of oxygen to be administered. Apart from it, decisions have to be taken on shifting patients to a hospital if need arises. Again, for such referrals, a physician is best suited, sources said.
There is a view that even others specialists can run the show as they have basic MBBS degree. However, even for that the staff should report. None has turned up so far, said a source.
A senior NMC official said the staff has been allotted and the centre can be started in a day. A team from railways has been requisitioned. However, sources said even if the staff comes now, oxygen supply has to be lined up. Twenty jumbo cylinders were allotted to the centre which were diverted to another hospital as the stock had ended there. A final reporting of the staff too is awaited, a source said.