As Karnataka is facing a severe shortage of health infrastructure, Leader of the Opposition and former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday said the State government should hire the services of retired doctors and paramedical staff, including nurses, temporarily to mitigate the problems created by the pandemic.
In a letter to Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa, the Congress leader has given 11 suggestions for management of the COVID-19 situation in the State and asked the government to rope in final-year MBBS and paramedical students for providing treatment for patients under the guidance of experienced doctors. He urged the government to release salary to doctors and medical staff on a timely basis to boost their morale.
Blaming the Central and the State governments for the state of affairs, Mr. Siddaramaiah wanted to know what had the State government done for the last 14 months since the first wave. “How many beds have been increased? How many ICU beds have been increased? How much production of oxygen and Remdesivir was increased?” he asked.
With shortage of beds in government and private hospitals, the former Chief Minister suggested establishing beds at schools, colleges, community halls, and marriage halls temporarily.
On the shortage of ventilators and oxygen, Mr. Siddaramaiah suggested importing both to ensure timely treatment. He pointed out that the country had exported 11 lakh doses of vaccine and urged the Centre to step up its production.
On patients being charged ₹40,000 to ₹50,000 per day in some private hospitals, the Congress leader urged the government to issue guidelines to private hospitals for regulation of fees.
The State should get vaccination free of cost and the State MPs should put pressure on Prime Minister Narendra Modi in this regard, he added.