As the rise in COVID-19 cases continue unabated in Kottayam, the authorities have begun augmenting the treatment facilities across the district.
According to officials, as many as 100 beds and 20 oxygenated beds will be added to the second-line treatment centre in Pala, which currently has the capacity to accommodate 105 patients. The number of beds in the Government Medical College (GMC) too will be raised.
Besides augmenting the existing facilities, new treatment centres will be opened in Vaikom, Ramapuram, Kanjirappally and Thottakkad. Steps are also in place to open oxygen parlours in all first-line treatment centres.
As per estimates, the two COVID -19 special hospitals in district are fast running out of capacity with almost 75% of the total beds available being occupied currently. The situation is far worse in the GMC where only 5% of the total beds are available.
The second-line treatment centres in Kottayam , which has a total of 494 oxygenated beds, are also experiencing a surge in admissions.
To tackle a prospective crisis in oxygen supply, the authorities have collected about 252 oxygen cylinders from the industrial units and of this, about 169 have been converted for medical usage. Efforts were on to collect more oxygen cylinders from the private parties, said M. Anjana, District Collector, Kottayam.
Meanwhile, the oxygen plant established at the GMC has commenced trail operations and is slated for inauguration in a few days. The plant, which operates on PSA (pressure swing absorption) technology, will run round-the-clock and can generate 2,000 litres of oxygen per minute.
Pathanamthitta
In Pathanamthitta, the authorities have commenced efforts to augment the production capacity of the oxygen plant at the Pathanamthitta General Hospital. The plant, which currently has 12 manifolds on the control panel, will now operate with eight more manifolds and two more in the reserve.
The district panchayat has embarked on a plan to establish an additional oxygen plant at the hospital, which is slated to be operational in six weeks.
Meanwhile, the General Hospitals in Pathanamthitta and Kozhencherrry have been experiencing an unprecedented rise in patient admissions with just 15% of the ICU beds currently lying vacant. “The General Hospitals in Adoor and Thiruvalla have been put on a standby mode but the situation may go out of control if the number of active cases, which currently hovers around 12,000 cases, cross the 15000 mark,” said A.L. Sheeja, District Medical Officer.
Taking note of the situation, the health authorities have approached the private hospitals to allot more ICU beds for COVID-19 treatment.
