BENGALURU: Government hospitals in Bengaluru are witnessing increased footfall in the post-Covid era. Doctors attribute it to improved healthcare facilities after Covid, at affordable costs. The daily footfall in hospitals like KC General, Jayanagar General and Victoria Hospital increased to an average of 1,200 patients. The 2022 statistics from KC General Hospital showed rising figures -- from 1,399 admissions in April to 1,569 in July, to 1,877 admissions in September. Doctors said the next two months saw a slight slip due to the festive season but was still above the overall count when compared to September.
The reason for increased footfall is improved facilities at government hospitals during the pandemic. At KC General, all beds have oxygen support, and the number of ICU beds has also increased, a doctor said. With rising inflation, people prefer quality healthcare at affordable costs, he added.
Officials at KC General Hospital explained that in the post-Covid era, hospitals started releasing Covid beds into normal wards. Dr Ramakrishna, medical superintendent of Jayanagar General Hospital, said footfall has increased as the number of Covid cases has dropped, and people are no longer apprehensive of infection. Hospitals are also admitting more people since there are few Covid cases now.
Dr Ramakrishna said currently, their average out-patient footfall is around 1,000 on normal days. He also attributed it to better quality healthcare and more admissions for other ailments than just Covid.
A few doctors said that while the state of healthcare is better, government hospitals lag behind in terms of human resources. Nurses and other staff in a few hospitals complained of being overburdened post-Covid, as the number of beds was more but employee strength was the same.