Keep Covid units for kids ready, West Bengal government tells private hospitals

KOLKATA: After an extensive plan to revamp paediatric Covid facilities in government-run hospitals, health officials on Friday asked private hospitals to haul up their paediatric units before the third wave hits. Health experts believe the third wave could strike by September-October and a large number of children could get infected.
“In the second wave we had close to 30,000 children testing positive so far, though more than 50% recovered at home. If the third wave hits, there is a possibility of more infection among children. In addition to government hospitals, private hospitals, too, need to gear up,” said a doctor at the state health department.
From setting up paediatric task forces, assessing equipment to calculating the number of beds needed, especially for children who will need critical care, private hospitals have started working on their plans.
“We have formed a paediatric Covid task force which has started identifying the loose ends that need to be tied up. Our Mukundapur unit has been identified as the main centre for paediatric Covid care as we have a state-of-the-art PICU and NICU there. We can have 100 beds if the need arises in the new tower at Mukundapur and another 30 beds at our Salt Lake unit,” said Rupak Barua, group CEO, AMRI Hospitals.
The hospital chain’s paediatricians have started training nurses and RMOs working in adult Covid ICUs on the specific needs for paediatric care.
“We currently have 22 beds in PICU and NICU combined. To start off, we can dedicate 50% of that for Covid care. Most children are unlikely to get a severe disease or need intensive care. We will also start chalking out how many general beds we can dedicate to the paediatric patients,” said Simmardeep Gill, COO, CK Birla Hospital CMRI.
“The second wave has taught us to identify gaps in time. We have three NICU, which are used to keep newborn delivered by Covid-positive women. For older children, we can spare two wards with capacity for six kids each,” said Peerless Hospital CEO Sudipta Mitra.
Most private hospitals now use the dual-mode ventilators that can switch between adults and paediatric patients by changing the pressure regulator and the output part. “With the legacy of handling complex congenital cardiac cases over the years, we have the infrastructure for treating paediatric patients in critical care. Paediatric consultants and nurses will be available round-the-clock. In the worst case scenario, we are ready to temporarily suspend the NICU & PICU and utilize its trained doctors, nurses and support staff for paediatric management,” said R Venkatesh, regional head (eastern), Narayana Health.