VIJAYAWADA: Covid-19 patients must be provided beds in hospital within 30 minutes, Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy asserted on Tuesday, amid reports that infectees were finding it hard to get admitted to hospitals.
“Use the available beds effectively. There should be no complaints that Covid-19 patients were not allotted beds. Collectors and Joint Collectors will be held responsible if patients don’t get beds within 30 minutes,” he said, and warned of action against hospitals that deny admission to people who contracted coronavirus.
“We have 128 district hospitals for Covid-19 patients. Officials should monitor the facilities available there. The bed strength and availability at each of these hospitals, and at the 10 state-level hospitals, should be displayed online,” the Chief Minister told officials during a Spandana review meeting with district Collectors and Superintendents of Police via videoconferencing.
The toll-free numbers for patients to lodge complaints should also be displayed, he said, and added that the toll-free numbers 104 and 14410, and the district-level toll-free numbers must be publicised. Callers should get all the needed assistance, he asserted.
The officials said there are about 32,000 beds in the 128 district Covid hospitals, and 8,000 in the state Covid hospitals, and patients are admitted to either of these facilities based on their health.
The Chief Minister told the officials to keep stock of the drug remdesivir at state Covid hospitals in case of emergencies. About 17,000 doctors and other staff will be recruited to treat patients over the next six months, he said.
Jagan further directed the officials to raise awareness to ensure people who have Covid-19 are not treated as untouchables. As for incidents of people objecting to the burial of coronavirus victims, he emphaised that the virus doesn’t remain in the body more than a few hours after death, and relatives can perform the last rites. “If nobody comes forward, the government will perform the last rites, and Rs 15,000 will be given for this,” he reiterated.
Commenting on the number of cases recorded in the state, Jagan told the officials not to hide facts and show deflated figures.
“We are conducting tests on a massive scale - 31,000 tests per million people. Despite the absence of corporate hospitals, the death rate in the state is only 1.06 per cent, while the national average is 2.5 per cent,” he pointed out.
The officials responded saying data on the number of cases has been accurate and transparent. “Even after recording 6,000 positive cases in a day, the state did not hide the facts,” they said.The Chief Minister asserted that about 50 per cent of the one lakh people who contracted the virus in the state have recovered and are leading normal lives.