Nagpur: As more and more hotels are starting ‘Covid Care Centres’, their association is advising members to extra care before inking any sort of partnership with hospitals.
Nagpur Residential Hotels’ Association (NRHA) says symptomatic patients will be shifted to hotels and if anything goes wrong, they may end up being liable for the repercussions.
“It’s important for every hotel to be clear about what services the hospital is providing and the SOPs during an emergency. While planning for any situation we have to be ready for the most extreme possibility. If at all the patient’s heath deteriorates and complications arise then relatives might vent their anger on the hotel staff,” said NRHA president Tejinder Singh Renu.
Cases of angry relatives damaging hospital premises have become common. “We don’t want hotel property to be damaged for no fault of our members,” added Renu.
The association is also asking its members to ensure that their infrastructure meets all the safety guidelines and is certified by the competent authority. “Even in hospitals, cases of fire breaking out have happened. In such a scenario it is but natural for any law-abiding business establishment to ensure that their buildings comply with all safety norms,” he said.
The current gold rush in hotels turning into Covid Care Centres is due to a huge gap between demand and supply of hospital beds. Many hospitals have tied up with hotels to take care of their patients.
A hotel owner, who did not wish to be named, said these tie-ups are like a ‘lifeline’ to the collapsing sector. “We had no business for months, and the ray of hope seen in January vanished quickly. This way at least everyone benefits. Patients in need of supervised medical treatment get a bed, infrastructure load on hospitals is reduced and hotels too get some income,” said the owner.