The Department of Health and Family Welfare has turned to private medical college hospitals to address the acute shortage of beds. “Seventy-five percent of beds in private medical college hospitals having facilities to treat COVID-19 patients shall be reserved for the treatment of patients referred by the public health authorities. This will include the HDU and ICU beds, both with and without ventilators,” stated a notification by the State government.
Action will be taken against institutions that fail to comply as per the Disaster Management Act, besides legal action under relevant sections of the IPC.
Incidentally, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike had proposed to the government to take over the 12 private medical colleges in the city and convert them into dedicated COVID-19 hospitals.
