Upgrade infrastructure: PTFC-19
Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, May 16 2021:
The People's Task Force for COVID-19 (PTFC-19) has urged the State Government to upgrade the health infrastructure and hire requisite medical staff to arrest the rapid spread of Coronavirus in the State.
A press release issued by PTFC-19 said that the sudden jump in the number of Covid cases and fatality in the State since the past few days in spite of clamping curfew demand thorough analysis of the measures taken up and act on the lapses on a war footing.
If the number of beds and health care facilities available in two major hospitals-JNIMS and RIMS and the amount of oxygen produced in the State are put into consideration, the State will witness an increasing rate of Covid positivity and mortality rate in the days to come, PTFC-19 opined and added that the health infrastructure and medical practitioners available in the State is not sufficient to face the second wave of COVID-19 .
The Task Force further stated that reporting more and more deaths at hospitals due to lack of beds, ventilators and other health infrastructure is distressing.
Stating that there are only 258 Covid beds and 28 ventilators at RIMS and JNIMS at present, the PTFC added that this inadequacy in health infrastructures at the major hospitals is a matter of serious concern.
It also said that many Covid patients are at hospital campuses waiting for beds/wards for treatment while many died after their health deteriorated in the process.
This battle against the highly contagious disease is becoming a mammoth task as the number of Covid positive cases reported in just a day outnumber the Covid beds available in hospitals, the PTFC-19 added.
According to experts, the coronavirus variant of the second wave is more virulent than the previous one, said PTFC-19 and added that the demand for oxygen is also much greater in the second wave.
Stating that many critical Covid patients whose oxygen saturation level measure below 60/50 and require immediate transfer at ICU are still treated at Covid ward due to unavailability of ICU beds, the PTFC added that situation in private hospitals is also grim as accepting new Covid patients is beyond their capacity now.
The Task Force further stated that the amount of oxygen produced in the State is quite low to meet the emerging need.
If the increasing trend of Covid positive cases in the State is accounted for, the availability of oxygen brought in from other States is also quite short, continued PTFC-19.Adding that the amount of oxygen manufactured at RIMS Oxygen Plant in a day is just about 40 D-Type cylinders while the number of cylinders required in a day at the hospital is over 270, it added that Shija Hospital which is managing to meet its oxygen demand for now, might face the same shortage if their Covid beds increase on necessity.
The PTFC then urged the Government to make the number of oxygen cylinders brought in from other States public and initiate a measure to solve the shortage of oxygen on a war footing.
It further urged the Government to upgrade the number of Covid and ICU beds available in the State to not less than 1000 and 300 respectively.
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