BENGALURU: In the wake of the surge in Covid-19 cases in Bengaluru, Minister Dr C N Ashwath Narayan on Saturday convened a meeting with officials and inspected preparedness at KC General Hospital in Malleswaram.
He announced that doorstep swab collection will be introduced in the constituency. “Testing will also be done by visiting door-to-door. I have also asked officials to identify a public health centre in the constituency that will operate 24/7,” Narayan said.
After the visit, he directed officials to immediately submit a proposal seeking to fill the shortage of medical and paramedical staff in the hospital, and assured them of immediate approval. He said officials have been asked to take steps to operationalise the helpline and war room that functioned during the second wave and also to set up the Covid care centre.
Meanwhile, the minister asked BBMP officials to consult with companies like Wipro to avail effective Cloud Medical Services (Cloud Surgeon Service) and to enter into a memorandum of understanding with the Life Science Diagnostic Centre to facilitate certain medical tests and make arrangements with ISCKON to provide nutritious food for those who admitted to hospitals for treatment.
During the visit, he reviewed the progress of the construction of buildings of a 50-bed paediatric division and a 60-bed division of Jayadeva Cardiac Centre. Currently, the KC General hospital is equipped with 106 beds with ventilators, 11 HFNC oxygen beds, 60-bed step-down ICU with HE monitor, 3,000 pulse oximeter banks, 200 contactless monitors, 100 oxygen concentrators, and 200 home isolation oxygen concentrators. In addition to this, the PHC at Palace Guttahalli has a 30-bed step-down ICU ward, a ward with 15 C-Tap machines to treat children, and a high-tech laboratory.