VIJAYAWADA: The Andhra Pradesh government has passed orders allowing it to use private and non-governmental healthcare institutes and their infrastructure to treat COVID-19 patients.
“Private medical college-attached hospitals and other private hospitals in the State are required for their services to be used in toto for COVID-19 treatment,” the order, issued by Special Chief Secretary (health and medical) KS Jawahar Reddy, said.
This is because there is an imminent need to scale up medical facilities for isolation rooms, isolation beds, ventilators and testing labs, among other things, in view of the swelling number of positive cases, Reddy explained.
Directives were issued to authorities of private and non-governmental medical institutes under the AP Epidemic Disease (COVID) Regulations 2020 and Disaster Management Act 2005, asking them to make available all their resources such as isolation beds, rooms, wards, ICUs, ventilators, testing labs, pharmacies, sanitised mortuaries, and manpower, for emergency response, rescue and relief operations.
The orders will come into effect immediately.
Meanwhile, Agriculture Minister K Kanna Babu said officials were told to identify private hospitals and medical colleges and have them empanelled for COVID-19 treatment. Collectors have been told to take over hotels, wedding halls, and even colleges and hostels to treat patients, if needed.