VISAKHAPATNAM: Coronavirus treatment in Visakhapatnam received a big push with the commissioning of a 500-bed Covid facility at the five-storied CSR Block of King George Hospital (KGH) on Saturday.
The facility is the first in the state to have 200 ICU beds and 300 oxygen supported beds, and 20,000 litres of liquid oxygen is being procured daily. It has a 500 kw generator for backup power, officials said.
According to KGH superintendent and Andhra Medical College principal PV Sudhakar, a caesarean delivery was performed successfully on a Covid-positive woman at the facility within two hours of its opening.
Even as all floors have beds for Covid patients, a registration and information centre has been set up in the ground floor of the building, which has been equipped with equipment worth Rz 10 crore. “There are 10 stretchers with oxygen support so that patients can be shifted to wards immediately after registration, and a closed circuit TV system will monitor them.” He said around 1,000 staff, including 400 doctors and 400 nurses, have been deployed at the facility, and relatives can inquire about the patients at the help desk.