Pune: 150 beds from April 30 for govt hospital in badly-hit Baramati

PUNE: The Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) at MIDC, Baramati, is working to set up 150 oxygen beds from April 30 to deal with Covid-19 patients in need of oxygen support.
Baramati is one of the worst hit tehsils in the district. At 2,642 active cases, the tehsil has the highest numbers in rural Pune.
A decision to provide 150 oxygen beds at GMCH was taken at a review meeting chaired by deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar in Baramati on Sunday. Issues related to supply of remdesivir and other medicines were also discussed at the meeting. Senior officials from the revenue department, police officers and local political leaders were present at the meeting.
Baramati’s sub-divisional officer Dadasaheb Kamble told TOI, “As of now, we have 450 oxygen beds at private hospitals, which have been designated as dedicated Covid facilities, and another 177 oxygen beds at state establishments, such as the sub-district hospital. Yet, there is a high demand for oxygen beds and we had to refer many patients to health centers outside the tehsil. We discussed this issue at the meeting held today.”
Kamble said the issue of shortage of remdesiver was also discussed during the meeting. “We are getting around 300-350 Remdesiver vials now, as against our requirement of 600 vials every day. We have requested the deputy CM to make available the required vials to tide over the situation.”
Pawar has already directed the police and the revenue authorities to work in tandem to implement social distancing norms effectively across the tehsil.