BENGALURU: NGO Bal Utsav, which is working to improve government schools in the state, has proposed to the State Government that it will set up and pilot Bharat Covid Care Centres in four wards in Bengaluru. These centres will cater to about 100 people each and will have all the functions of a full-fledged hospital, including general beds, high-dependency units, ICUs, CCUs and ventilators.
The cost for 100 beds will be Rs3,60,00,000 (capital expenditure) and Rs2,16,10,000 (operating expenditure). Each of these proposed centres will work as a feeder to an existing hospital. “By adding one such 100-bed facility in each ward in the city, we can add 19,800 additional beds in the next three weeks,” said Ramesh Balasundaram, the NGO’s co-founder and director.
These centres will work with existing hospitals and share medical personnel and technical know-how, he added. Only patients who need critical care will be admitted to a hospital and others will be treated at these centres at the ward level. The NGO is seeking financial support from India Inc and global funding sources.