BENGALURU: With a surge in Covid-19 cases, the state government plans to rope in private hospitals to reduce the burden on the designated hospitals. Rates will be fixed for treatment at private hospitals, Medical Education Minister Dr K Sudhakar said on Tuesday. “Some patients are going to private hospitals but after they test positive, they go to Victoria or any other government hospital.
This should not happen. Strict action will be taken against private hospitals which refuse to treat Covid-19 patients despite having the capability. Detailed guidelines will soon be released regarding the number of beds, ICUs and ventilators to be reserved for treatment of Covid cases,” the minister said. The minister said that he held detailed talks with senior officials and experts on the best practices and effective steps being taken by other states and several decisions were taken in this regard.
An expert committee has been formed to advise on the type of treatment and care required for cases in different stages. As cases have been increasing since the last two weeks, Covid-19 Care Centres (CCC) will be set up to monitor and treat infected persons who are asymptomatic, he said.
BBMP Commissioner B H Anil Kumar has been directed to ensure that 20,000 beds are available in CCCs by July 15, the minister said. This will reduce the burden on hospitals, he said, adding that the CCCs will be set up statewide.
“We are making one app that will tell us how many hospitals are there, how many ventilators, beds, ICU facilities are available so patients need not be referred to places where the facilities are already full. If an asymptomatic case turns into symptomatic, they will be shifted from the CCC to a hospital. CCCs can be private medical colleges, hospitals, community centres, stadiums etc. Details are to be worked out after a task force meeting set to take place this week,” he said.
Positive cases have tripled in the last two weeks and deaths have doubled, he said. To control the pandemic the government is trying to scale up testing to 15,000 to 25,000 samples per day. They will do so by testing delivery boys in courier, postal, food delivery, e-commerce services, street vendors, supermarkets bill counter staff, pourakarmikas, slum dwellers, people in crowded areas and random testing in old containment zones. It has also been decided to mandatorily test all those who have symptoms of ILI and SARI, apart from frontline workers such as healthcare and police personnel.